Invasive Pest Information: Goldspotted Oak Borer

Good afternoon San Diego County Planning Groups,

Below you will find an introduction to an urgent situation in San Diego County with regards to an invasive pest affecting Oak Trees. While you will generally find largest population of Oak Trees in the east and north east portions of our county; the potential for this invasive pest to spread far and wide through firewood movement is possible. Your help in disseminating this information to your communities is a great step in the right direction towards helping control the spread of this devastating Oak Tree pest. I have also included a link to the main information website, there you will find several resource brochures like the ones I attached to this email to share with your community.

http://ucanr.org/sites/gsobinfo/   once you get to the page, go to the resources tab for all printable flyers and information

Invasive Pest Information:

Goldspotted Oak Borer

Goldspotted oak borer (GSOB) Agrilus coxalis, was first detected

in California (San Diego Co.) in 2004 during a trap

survey for invasive tree pests. In 2008 this borer was linked

to elevated levels of oak mortality ongoing in San Diego Co.

since 2002. Its existence in CA may date back to as early as

1996, based on examinations of previously killed oaks.

GSOB is native to Arizona and Mexico and was likely introduced

into southern CA via infested oak firewood. It is a

serious pest of coast live oak, Quercus agrifolia, canyon live

oak, Q. chrysolepis and California black oak, Q. kelloggii in

CA and has killed more than 20,000 trees across 620,000

acres.

GSOB-killed oaks have only been found in San Diego Co. to date, however, it is expected that the area

of infestation will continue to extend north beyond the county line and tree mortality will continue to

increase due to adult flight from infested trees and new infestations initiated through beetles emerging

from transported firewood.

Thank you,

Jeff Stoffel

Vegetation Manager

County of San Diego

Office 619-660-5820

Cell      619-857-0391

Rainbow Planning Group_Agenda_Minutes_April 2012

Bees Take Over Owl Barn

About two weeks ago we discovered that a barn owl couple had moved into the barn owl box with video camera that we had installed high in a eucalyptus tree in our yard in February.

They started a family, with four eggs laid and being diligently incubated by Mama Owl as of yesterday morning.

By yesterday evening, Mama had left the four eggs unattended for an hour of more, and there were a few bees in the box.

As of this morning, the whole swarm has moved in with the four abandoned barn owl eggs.

I have read that this is a common problem with owl boxes, because honey bees like the same accommodations.

We will greatly miss the opportunity to watch the barn owl family grow and prosper.

Love Is In The Air

It seems as though this happens every morning about this time in an apparent effort to assure that all of the eggs are fertile.

This morning it was particularly quick.

She was sleeping peacefully on her three eggs.

Then she looked toward the box entry.

Then he was on her, as pictured.

Then he was gone.

All in the space of about two minutes.

Some mornings he brings food and/or there is mutual grooming before he jumps her, but not on this visit to the nest this morning.

18th Annual Rainbow Days Picnic

Saturday, May 19th, 2012

10am-2pm

Rainbow Park - Fifth Street

The 18th annual “Rainbow Days” Picnic will be held Saturday, May 19, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Rainbow Park.  The event is sponsored by RPOA with the cooperation and participation of every civic organization in the community. 

A full BBQ lunch will be served for $4.  Raffles, offering a variety of items from local businesses, will be held every 30 minutes.   

The grand raffle, featuring a $100 bill, sponsored by Rainbow Realty, will be held at 1:30 p.m.  The winner must be present to win. 

Games for children of all ages, including the three-legged race and the balloon toss, will be held throughout the day. 

The election of RPOA board members will be held at the event. Election results will be announced at 1 p.m. 

The second annual Vallecitos Art Show will be staged at the picnic. Winners will receive cash awards.  All grades will participate. A dozen or more of the student entries will be used to create a 2013 calendar, which will be sold this Fall to benefit the Vallecitos PTO. 

The Plant Sale, featuring items donated by 19 local nurseries will begin at 9 a.m. All proceeds from the Plant Sale benefit Vallecitos School District. 

Last year’s picnic saw a turnout of over 300 — the best in years — thanks in large part to the inaugural Vallecitos Art Show. A strong turnout is hoped for again this year.

Mama Barn Owl _ Three Eggs

Papa Owl spends very little time in our barn owl box, but he came by a little before 5 AM 4/2/12 for an intimate visit and to bring food. Following his departure, Mama Owl took a brief break from incubating duty to show off her third egg, new since yesterday.

Owl Barn Goes Up, Owl Moves In

In January and February of 2012 I read up on barn owls as a way of controlling squirrel populations and decided to build a barn owl box to attract barn owls to our property. Following suggested designs on the Internet, I built a barn owl box and hung it from a eucalyptus tree branch about three feet below the branch so that the box is about twenty feet in above the ground and about 175 feet south of our house. I put a night vision IP video camera inside the box and strung an overhead cable between the box and the second floor deck of our house to power the camera and convey the Internet signal from the owl box to the house, making the camera part of our private LAN.

For several weeks with the camera turned on 24/7, I checked frequently for occupancy, with no luck. Then about a week ago I powered off the camera on the theory that the camera lights, including in particular the red lights which are essential to night vision, were a turn off to owls with their own excellent night vision.

About 10:00 AM this morning, I powered up the camera, took the attached picture of our new occupant, and promptly powered off the camera again so as not to scare away our new occupant, who was moving around as I took the picture.

I intend to briefly turn the camera on every few weeks to take additional peeks. 

3/28 - update -I now have the camera on 24/7. The light does not seem to bother the owls.

VALLECITOS SCHOOL BOARD VACANCY

Temecula Valley Strawberry Farms

TEMECULA VALLEY STRAWBERRY FARMS

WE GROW THEM...U PICK THEM!

 We are Temecula Valley Strawberry Farms; a family owned and operated farm! Our berries our grown in a unique and inventive Hydroponic system.  We have been a part of the Temecula Valley for several years. You may recognize us from our strawberry stands around the area.  

     Our unique style of farming has many benefits. The picture on the right shows our Hydroponic style of farming. One of the benefits to this style of growing strawberries is our ability to create a U-pick where you and your family can get the freshest, sweetest berries around, as well as a first hand experience of what it is that we do. Our fun and interactive farm is a great place for the whole family. Whether you come to pick some fruit, learn more about farming, have a picnic or grab a few strawberry goodies at our strawberry stand store, we promise that you won't be disappointed. We look forward to seeing you at Temecula Valley Strawberry Farms! 

Pala Raceway Summary of Actions

Tom Casey and Eli Vedagiri met with Chuck Perrault (new owner of Pala Raceway) and Pala Tribe Representatives Shasta Goughen and Frank Spurgeon on Friday, April 9^th to discuss what steps would be taken to mitigate the noise nuisance created by Pala Raceway. 

The following is a summary of actions to be taken and the timeline agreed upon in the meeting:

1.      The Pala Environmental Department will be enforcing the 96 decibel limit on all vehicles operating at the Pala Raceway.

2.      Noise monitoring equipment will be installed to detect vehicles that are operating over the 96 decibel limit.

3.      Suggested equipment includes self-contained monitors that can be positioned in various places around the raceway, and that are equipped with an electronic system that notifies both the rider and the raceway staff if a vehicle is in violation. Riders will be flagged off the track in the case of a violation so that modifications can be made to bring their vehicles into compliance. Further, the noise measuring equipment may be connected to a computer or handheld device application that tracks and records the noise level. Pala ED staff will be able to remotely access the noise data to monitor the raceway for compliance and to alert raceway staff if a rider needs to be removed from the track for noncompliance. Local residents who are concerned about noise on any particular day will be able to contact the Pala ED and request that staff check the monitors and report the current noise levels.

4.      Pala ED staff will research the equipment options and make recommendations within 30 days (by April 9). The equipment will be installed and in use within 45 days (by April 26). Full installation and compliance monitoring will be underway within 60 days (by May 9). Noise reductions should be happening before the 60 day target, but the 30-45-60 day plan allows for proper placement of the equipment, testing, and training to make sure maximum noise reduction results are achieved by the end of 60 days.

5.      The Pala Raceway ownership may wish to explore other methods of noise mitigation, such as sound-absorbing fencing, for special events where noise might be expected to exceed the usual limits. The Raceway will inform the community in advance when special events are scheduled so that residents will be aware that there may be atypical noise levels for that event. At this point, extra mitigation measures will not be required but may be considered.

Thanks to all who have facilitated the community reaching this point of agreement and potential resolution with Pala Raceway.