SACRAMENTO – Gov. Jerry Brown on Tuesday announced he has signed AB 718, a bill by Assemblymember Jim Frazier (D-Discovery Bay) that is designed to reduce pesticide spraying on private wetlands by allowing property owners to initiate best management practices agreements with local mosquito control districts.
“AB 718 will protect public health and help ensure the conservation of our state’s wetlands, two-thirds of which are in private hands,” Frazier said. “The bill received bipartisan support in the Legislature and we worked with local mosquito vector districts and the Department of Fish and Game to address their concerns.”
Individual mosquito abatement districts vary in their approach to abatement issues on managed wetlands. Some districts have cooperative relationships and communicate annually with duck clubs on their wetland management practices, keeping abatement charges to a minimum. Others enforce a very low mosquito control threshold for wetlands, and charge wetland owners thousands of dollars for the spraying of pesticides.
“Mosquito abatement expenses are a significant disincentive for many private landowners to flood their wetlands in late summer and fall for early arriving migratory waterfowl, such as pintail,” said Mark Hennelly, Vice President, Legislative Affairs and Public Policy for the California Waterfowl Association. “AB 718 will provide a much-needed cost savings option for them and help ensure that more waterfowl habitat is flooded on schedule. CWA appreciates Assemblymember Frazier’s willingness to help address this issue and support duck clubs and others who manage their lands for waterfowl conservation purposes.”
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Assemblymember Frazier represents the 11th Assembly District, which includes the communities of Antioch, Bethel Island, Birds Landing, Brentwood, Byron, Collinsville, Discovery Bay, Fairfield, Isleton, Knightsen, Locke, Oakley, Pittsburg (partial), Rio Vista, Suisun City, Travis AFB, Vacaville and Walnut Grove.
