MVCAC Fall Meeting October 2-4 at the Hilton Palm Springs.

Booking information and schedule to come

MVCAC Summer Meeting July 25^th via zoom from 9 AM to noon. 

Zoom info to come. 

The California Department of Public Health has a selection of social media messages and graphics for agencies and districts to share about tick-bite prevention, Lyme disease awareness, and dead bird reporting.

• Nymphal Ixodes pacificus Active in Spring/Early Summer

Share social media messages about nymphal tick awareness and tick-bite prevention this season: Nymphal Tick Social Media (MVCAC PR Google Drive)

• WNV & Dead Bird Reporting

Share social media messages about dead bird reporting for WNV surveillance this spring and summer: WestNile.ca.gov Sample Social Media

Other helpful CDPH resources and links:

• CDPH Lyme Disease webpage
• CDPH Tick-Borne Disease Prevention webpage – New!
• CDPH Ticks & Tick-Borne Diseases webpage

The MVCAC ad hoc Drone Committee is here to help you plan granular larvicide applications with your drone. Download the guide here to learn best practices for selecting a launch site, organizing the flight team, mission safety, regulations, and certifications.  

For vector control districts that wish to use pyriproxyfen in WOTUS, an updated Notice of Intent form and Pesticide Application Plan needs to be submitted to the State Water Board. Examples of completed documents can be found on the Water Board NPDES Vector Control Permit website. Due to web accessibility requirements, the State Water Board is no longer allowed to post 3^rd party documents unless they are ADA-compliant. Therefore, the Water Board requests applicants post documents on their webpage and provide a link which will then be used to post on the State Water Board website for 30-day public comment as required per the permit.

Email Gurgagn Chand, Gurgagn.Chand@waterboards.ca.gov, your website link for the document. After the application link is posted for 30-day public comment, Water Board staff will notify you of any items that need to be addressed within the amended application package as well as any public comments received. If everything checks out, generally an amended Notice of Applicability approving the revisions will be issued by the Deputy Director of Water Quality within 1-2 weeks. 

Email MVCAC Regulatory Affairs Committee Chair (Erika Castillo, erika@mosquitoes.org) if you have any additional questions.

The California legislature is discussing a bill, AB 740 [Gabriel] Drone cybersecurity, that would limit the use of drones by all government agencies in California that fail to meet certain cybersecurity standards or originate from countries identified by the Federal Government as a cybersecurity concern . DJI, who makes most of the drones that are used in the US, would be limited under this bill. As a result, no government in California agency would be allowed to fly DJI drones under this bill unless they qualify for a limited discretionary exemption.  

The current bill would bring this change into effect on January 1, 2026. MVCAC is seeking to motivate an extension to this deadline to 2028, but is not currently opposing the bill. Very recently, the bill was put on a two-year cycle, so there may be a further extension of the deadline, but this is not guaranteed. MVCAC will continue to engage on this issue as the bill progresses.

Please keep this in mind as you consider purchasing drones. Contact the Chair of the MVCAC ad hoc Drone Committee if you wish to discuss further (Eric Haas-Stapleton, Eric@mosquitoes.org).