CollingwoodToday welcomes letters to the editor at [email protected]. Please include your daytime phone number and address (for verification of authorship, not publication). The following letter is in response to the gypsy moth infestations the region experienced in 2021.
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As spring approaches, my thoughts, which have been consumed by COVID-19, turn to another foe — the gypsy moth!
The last bit of news I was able to find on what our Springwater Township council is doing was that they have not allocated any funds to deal with another expected invasion. What they have done is direct their staff to "generate a report."
That should scare the moths, eh?
We don't need them to "generate a report" — we need them to come up with a solution to the problem. Seeking the advice of professionals in the Plant Health and Production Division of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) would be a starting point. Possibly securing quotes for the spraying of trees, etc., would be another worthwhile thought.
Left unchecked, this could end up costing the residents of Springwater thousands of dollars in devaluation of their property plus thousands more to remove any lost trees. I certainly hope it never comes to that, as I enjoy our community just the way it is.
I don't know how many hours I spent last summer taping trees, killing caterpillars and the disposal of them plus having to wash my home and driveway. It was a mess. Then watching the 50-foot oak trees in my front yard being stripped bare of every leaf!
Would the Springwater council please head off this disaster in 2022? We have all suffered enough.
W. A. Brown
Springwater Township
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