Sebastopol expected to be part of apple moth quarantine area

<p>Part of the city of Sebastopol likely will be included in a new quarantine area for the light brown apple moth.</p><p>A quarantine boundary won’t be officially established until next week at the earliest, state and Sonoma County officials said Friday and is expected to include nurseries, vineyards, farms and residences.</p><p>The quarantine area could extend to Highway 12 in Sebastopol on the north and Highway 116 and Stony Point Road on the south, Stephan Parnay, a county chief deputy agricultural commissioner, said.</p><p>The eastern and western boundaries are still being set, Parnay said. But Stony Point Road will become an eastern boundary at least between Highway 116 and Todd Road, Parnay said.</p><p>County Agricultural Commissioner Cathy Neville earlier this week announced that a quarantine would be established because inspectors had found two moths in the area since November.</p><p>The invasive pests, native to Australia, were found about a mile apart south of Sebastopol near Highway 116.</p><p>State and federal officials have deemed the apple moth a significant threat to agriculture and some native plants, and are preparing an eradication campaign. They believe the larvae damages fruit by feeding on the plant surface.</p><p>Critics dismiss the moth as a threat and have urged the federal government to downgrade the danger level of the pest. That step essentially would end quarantines and eradication efforts from Sonoma to Monterey counties.</p>