Shasta County Research Articles

Can text messages reduce incarceration in rural and vulnerable populations?

AbstractReducing failures to appear (FTA) in court is a top priority for criminal justice practitioners and advocates. However, existing work on reducing FTAs through text message reminders focuses on large urban jurisdictions and defendants who are housed. Using a field study in Shasta County, California, we evaluate whether text message outreach can increase court appearances for housed and unhoused populations. We find housed defendants randomly assigned to the treatment group were 10% less likely to miss their next scheduled court date than defendants in the control group. We find no statistical difference in the FTA rate of unhoused individuals assigned to treatment or control groups, and cannot rule out large positive or negative effects. We find that improving the quality of contact information in court records could lead to large reductions in FTAs. Partnering with local social service providers may not, but more research is needed.

Estimates of biomass reductions of ozone sensitive herbaceous plants in California

Exposure to tropospheric ozone pollution impairs photosynthesis and growth in plants and this can have consequences for ecosystems. However, exposure-response research in the United States (U.S.) has historically focused on trees and crops, and less attention has been given to non-crop herbaceous species. We combined U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ozone monitoring data from the entirety of 2016 with published exposure-response relationships from controlled exposure experiments for twenty herbaceous plant species occurring in California. The U.S. Department of Agriculture PLANTS database was used to identify county-level occurrence data of these plant species. A kriged ozone exposure surface for 2016 was generated using data from monitoring stations in California and surrounding states, using Accumulated Ozone exposure over a Threshold of 40 ppb (AOT40) as an exposure metric. County-wide ozone exposure estimations were then combined with published exposure response functions for focal plants, and maps were created to estimate ozone-induced growth losses in the counties where the plants occur. Plant species had estimated annual growth losses from <1 % to >20 % based on exposure levels and sensitivity. Of the 20 species, 17 had predicted biomass loss >5 % in at least one county, emphasizing the vulnerability of herbaceous species at recent ozone concentrations. Butte, Nevada, Plumas, San Luis Obispo, and Shasta Counties, an area of about 31,652 km2, had the highest number of species (6) with >10 % estimated biomass loss, the loss threshold for European critical levels. White clover (Trifolium repens L.) was one of the most affected species with more than an estimated 10 % annual estimated growth loss over 59 % of the state. Overall, these estimated growth losses demonstrate potential for shifts in plant communities and negative effects on ecosystems. This study addresses critical policy needs for risk assessments on herbaceous species in a single year of ozone exposure.

A NEW SPECIES OF PHACELIA (HYDROPHYLLACEAE) FROM THE SOUTHEASTERN KLAMATH MOUNTAINS, CALIFORNIA

Phacelia damnationensis Kierstead et al. (Hydrophyllaceae) is described as a new species from northern California. The new taxon is a large, perennial, multi-stemmed, generally upright, leafy plant growing from a branched woody caudex. Morphologically it appears most closely related to Phacelia Juss. sect. Baretiana Walden & R.Patt., which contains three other species: P. bolanderi A.Gray, P. hydrophylloides Torr. ex A.Gray, and P. procera A.Gray. This new species is currently known from five general areas in the eastern Klamath Ranges of Shasta County, where it occurs on disturbed open, rocky slopes in conifer forest habitat. We describe the morphological and habitat characteristics for P. damnationensis, another in a series of recently discovered vascular plant taxa endemic to the eastern Klamath Ranges and include an updated species key to Phacelia sect. Baretiana.

Downslope re-sedimentation from a short-living carbonate platform: Record from the Upper Triassic Hosselkus limestone (Northern California)

Despite their discontinuous occurrence and poor preservation, knowledge about Triassic carbonates from North America has increased considerably during recent years. Their characterization represents a unique way to better assess evolution and recovery of the biosphere after the major Permo-Triassic biological crisis in the Panthalassa Ocean. The Eastern Klamath terrane, located in Northern California, is a key terrane due to its geographic position. It is placed halfway between the terranes of the Canadian Cordillera and the Northern Mexico counterparts, both extensively studied and characterized in recent decades, leaving a gap in knowledge along the Pacific coast of the United States. A few kilometers north-east of Redding, Shasta County, California, Upper Triassic carbonates (i.e., the Hosselkus limestone) crop out as a narrow north–south belt about 20 km long, near the artificial reservoir of Lake Shasta. All the accessible localities in this region have been extensively sampled for microfacies and micropaleontological analysis, leading to new insights about the depositional condition and age of the Hosselkus limestone. A depositional model has been proposed for the first time, corresponding to a steep slope system subjected to platform progradation and collapse, recording shallow water facies and associated fauna in the form of calcareous breccia. Numerous conodont specimens have dated the whole succession as Upper Carnian. Identification of shallow water organisms, associated to a reliable stratigraphic interval, allowed comparison of the Hosselkus limestone with other Upper Triassic carbonates from the Panthalassan domain. Despite the faunal affinities, especially with buildups developed at middle-paleolatitudes, the Hosselkus limestone is among the oldest of the terrane-based carbonates in Eastern Panthalassa. Thanks to peculiar geodynamical and bathymetrical conditions, allowing carbonate deposition slightly earlier than in other terranes, the Hosselkus limestone probably acted like a pioneer reef and may have had a great influence in the further expansion of carbonate buildups in the eastern part of the Panthalassa Ocean.

Wildfire particulate matter in Shasta County, California and respiratory and circulatory disease-related emergency department visits and mortality, 2013-2018.

With data from the Shasta County Health and Human Services Agency, we examined the link between weekly wildfire fine particulate matter (PM2.5) exposure estimated using a spatiotemporal multiple imputation approach and emergency department (ED) visits and mortality using time-series models that controlled for temporal trends and temperature. Between 2013 and 2018, Shasta County experienced 19 weeks with average wildfire PM2.5 ≥5.5 μg/m3 (hereafter, "high wildfire PM2.5 concentration"). Among all Shasta County Zip Code Tabulation Areas (ZCTAs; n = 36), we detected no association between high wildfire PM2.5 concentrations and respiratory or circulatory disease-related ED visits or mortality. Subsequent analyses were confined to valley ZCTAs (n = 11, lower elevation, majority of population, worse air quality in general). In valley ZCTAs, high wildfire PM2.5 was associated with a 14.6% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 4.2, 24.9) increase in same-week respiratory disease-related ED visits but no increase in the subsequent 2 weeks nor on circulatory disease-related mortality or ED visits or all-cause mortality. Two weeks after high wildfire PM2.5 weeks, respiratory disease-related deaths decreased (-31.5%, 95% CI = -64.4, 1.5). The 2018 Carr Fire appeared to increase respiratory disease-related ED visits by 27.0% (95% CI = 4.0, 50.0) over expectation and possibly reduce circulatory disease-related deaths (-18.2%, 95% CI = -39.4, 2.9). As climate change fuels wildfire seasons, studies must continue to evaluate their health effects, particularly in highly exposed populations.

A remarkable new troglobitic Parobisium (Pseudoscorpiones: Neobisiidae) from California

A new species of the pseudoscorpion genus Parobisium, P. petilum, is described from a cave in Shasta County, northern California. It is the most troglomorphic species of the genus with remarkably slender pedipalpal segments.

Scenarios of climate adaptation potential on protected working lands from management of soils

Management of protected lands may enhance ecosystem services that conservation programs were designed to protect. Practices that build soil organic matter on agricultural lands also increase soil water holding capacity, potentially reducing climatic water deficit (CWD), increasing actual evapotranspiration (AET) and increasing groundwater recharge (RCH). We developed nine spatially-explicit land use and conservation scenarios (2001–2100) in the LUCAS land use change model to address two questions for California working lands (cropland and rangeland): How does land use change limit opportunities to manage soils for hydrologic climate adaptation benefits? To what extent and where can soil management practices increase climate adaptation on protected working lands? Hydrologic benefits [Σ(∆CWD, ∆AET, ∆RCH)] due to soil management were simulated in the Basin Characterization Model (a state-wide water balance model) for two Representative Concentration Pathway 8.5 climate models. LUCAS simulated land conversion and new conservation easements with potential for maximum hydrologic benefits. Climate drove differences in lost potential for water benefits due to urbanization (33.9–87.6 m3 × 106) in 2050. Conflict between development pressure and potential hydrologic benefits occurred most in Santa Clara County in the San Francisco Bay Area and Shasta County in Northern Sacramento Valley. Hydrologic benefits on easements were similar in magnitude to losses from development. Water savings from management of California Land Conservation (a.k.a. Williamson) Act contract lands were an order of magnitude greater, totaling over 460 m3 × 106 annually in a drier climate by 2050. Few counties provide most benefits because of soil properties, climate and land area protected. The increase in hydrologic benefits varies by agricultural practice and adoption rate, land use type and configuration, and terms of conservation agreements. The effectiveness of programs designed to improve climate adaptation at county to state scales will likely increase by taking this variability into consideration.

Taxonomic revision of black salamanders of the Aneides flavipunctatus complex (Caudata: Plethodontidae).

We present a taxonomic revision of the black salamander (Aneides flavipunctatus) complex of northwestern California and extreme southeastern Oregon. The revision is based on a number of published works as well as new molecular and morphological data presented herein. The subspecies Aneides flavipunctatus niger Myers & Maslin 1948 is raised in rank to a full species. It is isolated far to the south of the main range on the San Francisco Peninsula, south and west of San Francisco Bay. Another geographically isolated set of populations occurs well inland in Shasta County, northern CA, mainly in the vicinity of Shasta Lake. It is raised from synonymy and recognized as Aneides iecanus (Cope 1883). The remaining taxa occur mainly along and inland from the coast from the vicinity of the Russian River and Lake Berryessa/Putah Creek, north to the vicinity of the Smith River near the Oregon border and more inland along the Klamath and Trinity Rivers and tributaries into Oregon. The northern segment of this nearly continuous range is named Aneides klamathensis Reilly and Wake 2019. We use molecular data to provide a detailed examination of a narrow contact zone between the northern A. klamathensis and the more southern A. flavipunctatus in southern Humboldt County in the vicinity of the Van Duzen and main fork of the Eel rivers. To the south is the remnant of the former species and it takes the name Aneides flavipunctatus (Strauch 1870). It is highly diversified morphologically and genetically and requires additional study.

A Taxonomic Revision of Weevils of the Genus Panscopus Schönherr (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Entiminae: Tropiphorini)

Abstract The North American genus Panscopus Schonherr is revised. A key to the adults of the herein recognized six subgenera and 27 species of Panscopus (sensu lato) is provided, as is a systematic treatment for each subgenus and species. The subgenera recognized are Parapanscopus Buchanan, Panscopus (sensu stricto), Pseudopanscopus Buchanan, Dolichonotus Buchanan, Phymatinus LeConte (redefined), and Nocheles LeConte and Horn (redefined). Panscopus acutisetus Spanton, known only from Modoc and Shasta Counties, California, is described as a new species. Panscopus wickhami Buchanan, 1936 is a new junior subjective synonym of Panscopus (Nocheles) squamifrons Pierce, 1913. Lectotypes are designated for Panscopus (Panscopus) alternatus Schaeffer and Panscopus (Panscopus) erinaceus (Say). The previously valid subgenera Neopanscopus Pierce, 1913 and Nomidus Casey, 1895 are new junior synonyms of Nocheles LeConte and Horn, 1876.

Tina Saitone: Understanding the beef market, and whether sheepdogs are earning their keep

Profile Tina Saitone: Understanding the beef market, and whether sheepdogs are earning their keep A visit to the supermarket meat case makes clear that special types of beef command special prices. From certified Angus to antibiotic-free to pasture-raised — along with designations such as certifications of traceability or specific vaccination protocols that consumers don’t see — beef cattle are now marketed with long lists of “value-added” attributes. Evett Kilmartin For a rancher, each attribute represents both an added production cost and an opportunity to earn more when cattle are sold. But cattle are sold at auction for a single price per pound — there’s no itemization for what the buyer is paying for each attribute — so it can be difficult for ranchers to tell which practices are profitable and which aren’t worth the trouble. “Producers know their costs better than anyone, but the marginal value of each value-added attribute is really hard for ranchers assess,” said Tina Saitone, who joined UC Cooperative Extension (UCCE) in June as a specialist in livestock and rangeland economics based at UC Davis. In a research paper in this issue of California Agriculture (page 179), Saitone and her co- authors report findings from a study designed to tease out the value of each of these attributes, as well as the price ef- fects of forward con- tracting (fixing a price a month or more before the Tina Saitone is a cattle are delivered) and the distance a lot of UC Cooperative Extension specialist cattle is from the major cattle feeding and meat based in the processing hubs in the central United States. Department of Broadly, Saitone’s research program aims to Agricultural and Resource Economics help cattle and sheep producers better under- at UC Davis. stand the economics that influence their busi- ness decisions. A native of Sonoma County, where until recently her family ran a small, century-old 178 CALIFORNIA AGRICULTURE • VOLUME 70 , NUMBER 4 vineyard started with rootstock brought from Italy by her great-grandparents, Saitone grew up around farming and horses and gravitated to economics as an undergraduate at Sonoma State University. She com- pleted her Ph.D. in agricultural and resource econom- ics at UC Davis in 2008 and worked for an economic consulting firm before returning to UC Davis. An ongoing challenge is developing good sources of data on livestock markets in California. The study described above drew on sales data involving more than 2 million head of cattle over 17 years, provided by Western Video Market, a Chico- based video auction operator that has partnered with UCCE Shasta County director Larry Forero on market studies for several years. In a video auction, buyers bid on groups of cattle based on video footage of the animals as well as verification documentation col- lected by the auction operator. Because the transac- tions are conducted online, video auctions generate large, well-organized data sets. But Western Video Market represents only a por- tion of the total cattle sales in the state — most of the rest are sold through in-person auctions, with no sys- tems for data reporting. One long-term plan for Saitone and ANR collabora- tors — Forero, as well as Tehama County Livestock, Range and Natural Resources Advisor Josh Davy — calls for developing a monthly market report for cattle producers based on data from all of live auctions. The group is working with auction operators to standard- ize data collection and reporting. Saitone is also working to better understand the role of predation in livestock production in California and the cost-benefit associated with a wide variety of non-lethal depredation strategies. One study looks at the guard dogs — typically Great Pyrenees or Anatolian Pyrenees — that many sheep producers now use to protect flocks from coyotes and other pred- ators. By gathering data on lamb losses to predation, the effectiveness of guard dogs at preventing those losses, and the costs of maintaining a guard dog, Saitone said she hopes to help sheep producers with a basic calculation: “Does the dog make sense? Does it save you enough to be worth it?” c — Jim Downing

Sierra Foothill REC: Quantifying IPM benefits in rangeland systems

News from the RECs Sierra Foothill REC: Quantifying IPM benefits in rangeland systems T here’s a strong scientific case that integrated pest management strategies for rangeland weeds are effective — yet adoption of these practices on rangeland is extremely low. How come? One likely reason, says Jeremy James, director of Sierra Foothill Research and Extension Center (SFREC), is that it’s unclear whether investing in reducing weed populations makes financial sense. Microsoft, ESRI 174 CALIFORNIA AGRICULTURE • VOLUME 70 , NUMBER 4 Elena Zhukova running a series of experi- ments at SFREC. Beginning in 2013, the team manipulated pastures to have different degrees of weediness, measured by the percentage of land infested with medusahead, a com- mon rangeland weed. After 3 years, they had developed Medusahead (in green, above) is an a series of 13 experimental aggressive invasive annual grass that is 5-acre paddocks, with me- unpalatable to livestock for most of its “We have a good idea that invasive plants have negative dusahead coverage ranging life cycle. ecological impacts — but what we surprisingly do not know is from 11% to 50%. if there is actually any economic cost of having weeds on range- This spring, the researchers stocked the pastures with steers lands,” James said. from March through May and evaluated how weight gain var- A national assessment of rangeland integrated pest manage- ied with weed coverage. ment strategies like Results from this first season of tests indicate that weight targeted grazing, seed- gain does indeed suffer as weediness increases: for every N ing of desirable plants, 10% increase in weed cover, total weight gain was reduced by prescribed fire and the roughly 30 pounds per acre — a reduction in market value of use of selective herbi- $30 to $50 per acre at current prices. cides found abundant “For beef cattle production, those numbers are right in the evidence that these prac- middle of being something that might pencil out to treat,” said tices work (Sheley et al. James. “They’re not going to cause ranchers to go out of busi- 2011). However, the same ness, but at the same time they’re not negligible.” study also found that The study is scheduled to continue for at least another 2 that these practices are years. The team will replicate the spring grazing study and also little-used — in part be- assess the effects of weeds at other times of year, James said. cause of the difficulty of The project is part of a collection of studies funded by the assessing their economic U.S. Department of Agriculture that aims to quantify the value benefit. of the many ecosystem services that rangelands can provide. To better understand Some of these, like the effect of weeds on cattle weight gain, can the economic case for be directly quantified in economic terms. Others — such as the weed management, provision of habitat to support biodiversity or the benefits that James and a team of healthy soil can provide for groundwater infiltration — may be researchers — including more difficult to value but may still be desirable for ranchers to Tehama County live- support. The overall goal of the project, James said, is to docu- stock, range and natural ment the full suite of benefits that investments in rangeland resources advisor Josh management can deliver. c Paddock borders Davy, Stanislaus County — Jim Downing range and natural re- sources advisor Theresa Becchetti, Shasta County Reference livestock, range and Meters Sheley RL, James JJ, Rinella MJ, et al. 2011. Invasive plant management on antici- natural resources advi- pated conservation benefits: A scientific assessment. Chapter 7. In: Briske DD (ed.). The 13 test paddocks (nine of which are Conservation Benefits of Rangeland Practices: Assessment, Recommendations, and sor Larry Forero and UC shown here) enclose 5 acres each and Knowledge Gaps. US Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Davis Plant Science pro- are infested with medusahead to varying Service. bit.ly/2c1H0s2. degrees — from 11% to 50% coverage. fessor Emilio Laca — are

Social Capital and the Formal Legal System: Evidence from Prefecture-Level Data in Japan

Verifiable proxies for social capital potentially provide an empirically tractable way to identify environments where social norms both constrain behavior and substitute for judicial enforcement. Using regression and factor analysis with Japanese prefecturelevel data, I explore several aspects of this possibility. I first note that people in prefectures with high levels of social capital more readily comply with a wide range of low-level legal mandates. Conditional on levels of economic welfare, I further find that: (i) firms in prefectures with low levels of social capital are more likely to default on their contracts, (ii) residents in low social-capital prefectures are more likely to litigate, (iii) creditors of distressed debtors in low social-capital prefectures are more likely to petition a court for enforcement orders, and (iv) distressed debtors in low social-capital prefectures are more likely to file in court for bankruptcy protection. New York diamond merchants make agreements orally, and keep them. They promise to perform, as Lisa Bernstein (1992) famously explained, and trust each other to perform. They perform and trust because they live their lives within densely overlapping networks of social and religious ties. They perform and trust because they live within a community with an extraordinary level of social capital. Farmers in Shasta County, California, do much the same. They too structure their contracts and resolve their disputes privately, reported Robert Ellickson (1986, 1991). What is more, they structure and negotiate with scarcely a

Adiantumshastense, a new species of maidenhair fern from California.

A new species of Adiantum is described from California. This species is endemic to northern California and is currently known only from Shasta County. We describe its discovery after first being collected over a century ago and distinguish it from Adiantum jordanii and Adiantum capillus-veneris. It is evergreen and is sometimes, but not always, associated with limestone. The range of Adiantum shastense Huiet & A.R.Sm., sp. nov., is similar to several other Shasta County endemics that occur in the mesic forests of the Eastern Klamath Range, close to Shasta Lake, on limestone and metasedimentary substrates.

Erythronium shastense(Liliaceae), A New Species From Northern California

Abstract Erythronium shastense D. A. York, J.K. Nelson, & D. W. Taylor is described as a new species restricted largely to limestone outcrops near Shasta Lake, Shasta County, California. Style, leaf, and anther characters are used to distinguish E. shastense from the similar E. californicum and E. helenae.

A New Species OfVaccinium(Ericaceae) From The Southeastern Klamath Mountains And The Sierra Nevada, California, With Two Subspecies

Vaccinium shastense J. K. Nelson & L. Lindstrand III (Ericaceae) is described as a new species from interior California. This new species is most similar to V. parvifolium Smith but differs by its ciliate, inrolled leaf margins, much wider hypanthium scar, dark blue, glaucous, quickly deciduous fruits, greater seed count, and pitted seed surface sculpturing. Moreover, V. shastense and V. parvifolium are allopatric, occur in distinct habitats, and have distinct genetic characters. Two subspecies of Vaccinium shastense are described: Vaccinium shastense subsp. shastense, endemic to the southeastern Klamath Mountains in Shasta County, California, and Vaccinium shastense subsp. nevadense J. K. Nelson & L. Lindstrand III from the western slope of the Sierra Nevada, California. The new subspecies differ from one another in flower color, length of persistent calyx ring, growth habit, geographic range and habitat, and distinct genetic characters. Vaccinium shastense subsp. shastense and Vaccinium shastense subsp. nevadense are compared to morphologically similar taxa in California by inclusion of an updated species key.

Lessons Learned from Community-Based Approaches to Sodium Reduction

This article describes lessons from a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention initiative encompassing sodium reduction interventions in six communities. A multiple case study design was used. This evaluation examined data from programs implemented in six communities located in New York (Broome County, Schenectady County, and New York City); California (Los Angeles County and Shasta County); and Kansas (Shawnee County). Participants (n = 80) included program staff, program directors, state-level staff, and partners. Measures for this evaluation included challenges, facilitators, and lessons learned from implementing sodium reduction strategies. The project team conducted a document review of program materials and semistructured interviews 12 to 14 months after implementation. The team coded and analyzed data deductively and inductively. Five lessons for implementing community-based sodium reduction approaches emerged: (1) build relationships with partners to understand their concerns, (2) involve individuals knowledgeable about specific venues early, (3) incorporate sodium reduction efforts and messaging into broader nutrition efforts, (4) design the program to reduce sodium gradually to take into account consumer preferences and taste transitions, and (5) identify ways to address the cost of lower-sodium products. The experiences of the six communities may assist practitioners in planning community-based sodium reduction interventions. Addressing sodium reduction using a community-based approach can foster meaningful change in dietary sodium consumption.

Trifolium piorkowskii(Fabaceae, Papilionoideae), a New Clover from Shasta County, California, U.S.A.

A new species of clover is described, allied to Trifolium fucatum Lindl. and T. depauperatum Desv. Trifolium piorkowskii Rand. Morgan & A. L. Barber (Fabaceae, Papilionoideae) is an extremely rare clover that is apparently endemic to Shasta County, California, U.S.A. This new species differs from all other members of the T. fucatum complex in calyx and floral morphology, leaflet shape and markings, foliaceous stipules, and smooth seed coat. It also differs in range and habitat and has an eccentric nuclear ribosomal DNA ITS profile. Trifolium piorkowskii differs from the T. depauperatum complex in its relative robustness, leaf shape and markings, larger corolla size, the large acuminate involucre lobes, consistently forked calyx teeth, and larger seeds.

How Socio-Legal Norms Emerge within Complex Networks: Law and (In)Formality at Ipanema Beach

How Socio-Legal Norms Emerge within Complex Networks: Law and (In)Formality at Ipanema Beach

Use of environmental change strategies to facilitate sodium reduction: a case study in a rural California school district.

Excess sodium consumption increases the risk for hypertension, which is a leading risk factor for cardiovascular disease. For children and teenagers, school meals are a significant source of sodium consumption. To describe the environmental change strategies that were implemented to reduce sodium in the school meals of a rural California school district. Descriptions of the environmental strategies, with an emphasis on staff training and infrastructure improvements. School district of approximately two thousand 9th- to 12th-grade students in rural, northern California. School administration and food service staff at the 5 high schools in Anderson Union High School District. Shasta County Public Health partnered with Anderson Union High School District to (1) facilitate changes to meal preparation practices, (2) improve cafeteria infrastructure, and (3) provide training and technical assistance to improve procurement strategies. Environmental strategies to reduce sodium in school meals were implemented in 2011. Anderson Union High School District has continued to successfully implement scratch cooking and improve procurement strategies to reduce sodium in school meals. Using an approach that includes environmental change strategies can lead to sodium reduction in a school setting.

Biology of Mint Root Borer (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) and Control Options on California Peppermint

Mint root borer, Fumibotys fumalis (Guenee), larvae cause damage to peppermint by feeding on rhizomes belowground. This species can cause significant economic damage and occurs throughout all peppermint-growing regions in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and California. Until 2009, managing economic populations was limited to fall or spring tilling, and postharvest application of the organophosphate insecticide, Lorsban. The recent registration in California of the reduced risk insecticides chlorantraniliprole, indoxacarb, methoxyfenozide, and spinetoram on peppermint potentially improves management tactics by including preharvest applications. A degree-day model, available through the Oregon State University, Integrated Plant Protection Center (OSU IPPC), provides information that could be used for applying preharvest insecticides targeting vulnerable life stages. In 2010 and 2011, large delta sticky traps baited with mint root borer sex pheromone were placed in commercial peppermint fields in Shasta and Siskiyou counties and used to validate the OSU IPPC model under California conditions. Moth capture data indicated that the OSU IPPC model did not provide a reliable prediction of emergence, peak flight, and 90% flight. In 2010, observed peak flight varied 10-25 days earlier than predicted by the OSU IPPC model. Observed 90% flight occurred ∼2 weeks earlier than predicted in Shasta County and nearly 1 month earlier than predicted in Siskiyou County during 2010 and 2011, respectively.