The State - News from May 8, 1986

Citizens of the Northern California community of Tulelake organized to oppose a plan to test a genetically altered bacteria in their area. The Concerned Citizens of Tulelake called for a moratorium on open-air testing of the bacteria, which is intended to protect crops from freezing. Opponents of the experiment are afraid of the consequences of sending the new species--created by gene-splicing to remove an ice-forming gene from its DNA complex--into the atmosphere. “If they . . . spray, it’ll drift into the city for sure,” said Ava Edgar, spokeswoman for the anti-test committee, who said she has 100 names on a petition to halt the experiment.