Green Wednesday: Habitat Conservation Plans and Safe Gardening
By Penny Pawl, UC Master Gardener of Napa County / By Yvonne Baginski, Environmental Contributor
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Every Wednesday, Napa Valley Features includes posts from environmental voices and the UC Master Gardeners of Napa County, who share research-based horticultural advice. Together, these contributors provide valuable insights into sustainable gardening practices and climate-related topics relevant to our region.
"Is It Time for a Habitat Conservation Plan?" by Yvonne Baginski, Environmental Contributor: This article discusses the rapid development in South Napa County and the potential benefits of implementing a Habitat Conservation Plan to balance economic growth with wildlife preservation.
"Integrated Pest Management Can Help Keep Your Garden Safe" by Penny Pawl, U.C. Master Gardeners of Napa County: This piece introduces Integrated Pest Management as a sustainable approach to garden pest control, highlighting methods that reduce harmful chemical use while maintaining ecological health.
Integrated Pest Management Can Help Keep Your Garden Safe
By Penny Pawl
NAPA VALLEY, Calif. — If you are around Master Gardeners long enough, you are going to hear about Integrated Pest Management. IPM is one of the first things Master Gardener trainees learn about in their training classes. The State of California began funding the collection of IPM data in 1979. The objective was to gather information on agricultural and home-garden pests and on how to manage them sustainably.
I no longer get excited when I see aphids on the milkweed — I let nature take its course and watch predator insects arrive to restore balance.
After World War II, the insecticide DDT was in widespread use for pest control. I remember sitting in a drive-in theater while a truck went through spraying DDT. Eventually researchers at UC Berkeley began looking at and discussing the chemical’s side effects, which led to the development of the concepts behind IPM.
IPM relies on good bugs to eat bad bugs, but it does not exclude chemical use if done safely. The University of California’s IPM program offers classes in the safe use of chemicals. You can find those classes and more on the UC IPM website.
You can also read a brief history of IPM and then look up recommended control methods for the pest that’s giving you trouble. I immediately researched pocket gophers and moles. Both are big-time pests in my garden, and I wanted to see if there were control suggestions I had not tried. The site recommended traps for both critters, but I am so afraid of trapping my hands that I can’t set the traps.
That being the case, I have tried other methods, including laying gopher wire at the bottom of my garden beds, installing wire cages around plants to protect their roots, and relying on a windmill and those electronic beeping posts. Nothing seems to work well, although the windmill might be the most successful so far. Its vibrations are supposed to encourage these pests to move.
Moles are not related to mice or rats. They like worms, grubs and meat. Gophers prefer plants. I once put poison down some gopher holes, and one of my dogs dug it up and ate it. I had a huge vet bill from that experience.
I have another problem with aphids on milkweed. The yellow oleander aphids gather on milkweed stems and leaves. At first I purchased ladybugs and a mesh tent to put over the milkweed. Then I did some research on IPM to see what else I might do. I had noticed that after some time some of the aphids on the milkweed were dead. Although I had taken no action, predator insects had shown up to feast on them.
Oleander aphids came to the United States on oleander imported from the Mediterranean in 1841. The aphids found milkweed and loved it. All the aphids are female, so they clone themselves rather than mating. That reproductive method seems to work as they show up yearly. Caterpillars will eat them as even they need a little protein in their diet. I no longer get excited when I see aphids on the milkweed and let nature take its course.
Another bug I have had issues with is scale. Scale insects look like tiny bumps or shells, and they take up residence on many plant parts: trunks, stems, twigs, leaves and fruit. They suck sap from the host plant and excrete a sticky substance called honeydew that draws ants. You might have heard of ants “farming” scale for the honeydew; they farm aphids, too. According to the IPM site, ants engage in this behavior because they have a sweet tooth.
When I find scale insects on a plant, I flick them off with my fingernails. If the infestation is bad, I go after the ants.
The Mediterranean fruit fly is another pest in our area. It was recently found in Alameda County and is on the list of invasive insects. The Medfly originated in Africa but has spread widely. It attacks more than 250 different fruits, nuts and vegetables, including wine grapes. It lays its eggs under the skin of a susceptible fruit or vegetable and then hitchhikes around the world that way, infecting new host plants in previously unaffected areas.
The Medfly is one of the most destructive of all agricultural pests. In California, control involves releasing sterile males to mate with the females so they don’t produce eggs. You can read more about this method here. If you think you have Medfly in your garden or vineyard, report it to the local UC Extension office immediately.
Help Desk: The Master Gardener Help Desk is available to answer your garden questions on Mondays and Fridays from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. at the University of California Cooperative Extension Office, 1710 Soscol Ave., Suite 4, Napa. Or send your questions to mastergardeners@countyofnapa.org. Include your name, address, phone number and a brief description. For best results attach a photo.
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Penny Pawl is a UC Master Gardener of Napa County.
Is It Time for a Habitat Conservation Plan?
By Yvonne Baginski
NAPA VALLEY, Calif. — South Napa County, including the City of American Canyon, is forging ahead with approvals to rezone and build up privately owned open spaces into business parks, warehouses and residences. Despite this region’s being among the most biologically diverse in California, no private land is currently set aside for wildlife conservation.
As bulldozers scrape and grade soils that contain burrows for small mammals, snakes and birds, foraging lands become scarce and raptors have fewer places to hunt. When cement smothers the soil, the animals are pushed out even further. The cumulative impact on wildlife is not measured or contained. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife has written to cities and counties, urging that conservation be considered.
Science has proven that open space, soil, vegetation and trees are essential to our survival — preserving these resources supports both wildlife and our quality of life.
On July 22, the CDFW wrote to the City of American Canyon about a proposed warehouse on Commerce Court: “Other large developments in Napa County have not been required to mitigate for Swainson’s hawk foraging habitat, despite CDFW’s recommendation. Therefore, the net loss of foraging habitat from the proposed Project, in conjunction with other projects that have not mitigated for the loss of Swainson’s Hawk foraging habitat, may also contribute to a significant cumulative impact to Swainson’s Hawk which is a Mandatory Finding of Significance.” (Source, Source 2)
The American Canyon Planning Commission approved the build without comment.
Some 280 acres of former agricultural land, the Hess/Laird property, was recently rezoned to industrial by the Napa County Board of Supervisors. This property lies alongside Highway 29, from S Kelly Road to Green Island Road. Everyone leaving or arriving into Napa Valley passes it. While it once had vineyards and in the spring sheep, soon there might be another industrial park. (Source, Source 2)
American Canyon also recently approved the environmental impact report for 12.5 acres of open space to be transformed into a warehouse on land that directly abuts a eucalyptus forest near the wetlands. (Opponents submitted 240 pages detailing objections.) And the Nova Business Park property, which sits off Devlin Road, is prepping for more construction. (Source)
These examples demonstrate how quickly open space is disappearing. “For sale” and future commercial development signs abound. Many of the remaining fields are regularly disced for weed control, but the technique also destroys native plants and animals.
Napa County isn’t alone. Commercial development is actively chewing up land throughout California. But a growing number of counties, including Placer, Yolo and Contra Costa, have proactively stepped up conservation efforts to protect threatened and endangered species. These efforts include Habitat Conservation Plans and Natural Community Conservation Plans that map out the land, habitat and targeted species of an entire bioregion, allowing protection and growth to take place in a balanced environment. Science has proven that open space, soil, vegetation and trees are important to our survival. They not only sequester carbon but provide the basic building blocks of our quality of life.
Right now in Napa County development is considered and approved only within the boundaries of the property in question. With an HCP/NCCP, more wildlife conservation is possible. The entire bioregion area is mapped and a baseline of targeted species is put together before development plans are considered. Developers still must complete an EIR, but permits are issued by the HCP/NCCP one-stop shop. This usually saves time, eliminates litigation opportunities and streamlines the permit process.
East Contra Costa, for example, has conserved more than 14,000 acres, bringing in $90 million from grants (U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife and CDFW) and development permitting fees.
HCPs/NCCPs take three to four years to develop, then are approved and managed by a governmental entity such as Napa County. When complete, the HCP/NCCP will identify suitable conservation properties, survey and monitor preserves, determine coverage under permits, maintain a database, and track habitat loss and acquisition.
Whether Napa County will move in this direction is still to be determined. The question is whether wildlife has any right to land that is so coveted for economic development. If so, how do we strike a balance?
Actions you can take:
Contact the Napa County Wildlife Habitat Conservation Coalition focused on the development of HCP/NCCP’s in Napa County. The public is invited to become involved. For information: yvonnebaginski@gmail.com.
Attend Planning Commission and City Council meetings to make your voice heard.
Take photos of notable sightings of plants and animals and post on iNaturalist and ebird.org apps.
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Yvonne Baginski is a member of Napa Climate Now! The Sierra Club and the Napa/Solano Audubon Society. She received the Napa Climate Champion Award in 2022 and worked to defeat Measure J in American Canyon. She lives in Napa and started the Napa County Wildlife Habitat Conservation Coalition.