In late November, USDA announced it was more than doubling the emerald ash borer (EAB) quarantine area. This means the entire states of
Ohio,
Indiana and
Illinois are regulated, not just isolated areas in those states.
Illinois and parts of
Maryland also remain under EAB quarantine. I caught up with Dave Bender to see how the news was delivered, and the potential impact it will have on
Illinois growers.
Dave Bender
on EAB quarantine
Q. How were you informed about the new statewide quarantine for emerald ash borer?
A. Illinois Nurserymen’s Association was informed -- unofficially -- by an industry friend in
Indiana. The source in
Indiana, upon hearing the news, immediately contacted INA to inquire what, if anything, we knew about it.
We contacted the Illinois Department of Agriculture, at which time they indicated they knew a federal quarantine was imminent, but did not know what date it would be announced or become effective. To prepare, IDA had ordered a set of mailing labels of all
Illinois nurseries so they could inform them when they were given the official notice from USDA.
Obviously, INA would have appreciated a courtesy call from USDA, but to date, we have not received that call. In our opinion, common courtesy and professional decorum should have prevailed, particularly since INA and our members had fully cooperated in aggressively addressing the threat.
It is unfortunate that USDA did not invest the 30 minutes it would have taken to contact the state associations with members ultimately affected by the quarantine (
Illinois,
Ohio,
Indiana,
Michigan and
Maryland).
Q.What was the size of the quarantine in
Illinois before it went statewide?
A. Only two areas in northern
Illinois (including parts of Kane,
Lake and Cook counties) are currently under state quarantine. The areas covered 51 and 64 square miles, respectively. For a map of the area, visit INA’s Web site at www.ina-online.org.
Q. So there are growers in southern
Illinois -- 350 miles from the nearest known EAB outbreak -- who now fall under the quarantine?
A. We understand the role of USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service and appreciate their concerns in attempting to stop the spread of EAB. However, nurseries in central, western and southern
Illinois are having trouble understanding the logic or reasoning behind the USDA quarantine. Most, if not all, of these nurseries have not experienced any problems with EAB.
This has and will hurt their ability to conduct business with many of their long-term customers.
Q. There are obviously many growers in
Wisconsin a lot closer to the EAB outbreaks than those in southern
Illinois, yet
Wisconsin growers aren’t regulated. Do quarantine regulations pay too much attention to political boundaries?
A. With all due respect, USDA must think emerald ash borers have been retrofitted with GPS backpacks to alert them where the state boundary lines are on the map. Issues like this are an age-old problem in large geographic states, like
Illinois, which shares boundaries with six other states.
Unfortunately, businesses in border communities that have regular customers in these adjacent states are always the first to feel the pain. This is a perfect example of why USDA needs to have a better communication policy.
Q. How are
Illinois growers affected by the quarantine?
A. INA recently surveyed growers on the potential loss impact:
* Member firms participating in the survey: 40.
* Firms reporting no ash inventory: 2.
* Average ash inventory reported: 750-3,000 trees.
* Largest ash inventory: 33,010.
* Current estimated ash inventory in fields at reporting nurseries: 150,000.
* Estimated wholesale value of ash (survey respondents only): $270 million.
Given that many nurseries did not respond to the survey, including several large nurseries, it would be safe to say total ash inventory at
Illinois nurseries is around 400,000 trees with an estimated wholesale value of $72 million.
Q. What’s the future for EAB? Will it continue to spread and eventually be a problem for the whole country?
A. Since this is a very aggressive pest, it’s likely to spread well beyond its current boundaries and quarantine areas. In the 1990s, the Asian longhorn beetle (ALB) was found in
Chicago and it took nearly eight years to eradicate that pest. Luckily, ALB was found early in
Illinois and contained to a small area in the state.
One of the reasons we were successful was the leadership and direct involvement of Chicago Mayor Richard Daley. However, there were known ways to control and combat ALB.
With EAB, unfortunately, we are not as well-armed -- not because we were not prepared or not vigilant, but because no treatments or tools currently available to us have proven effective in controlling or eradicating the pest.
EAB is a much more aggressive pest and it’s much more difficult to confirm its presence. In fact, it appears EAB may have been in northern
Illinois, undetected, for possibly five years or longer.
And since the green-industry economy is becoming more global, the chances of this being a problem for the whole country are greater today than 10 years ago.
Q. With decreased federal funds for eradicating the pest, will we ever get rid of it?
A. Like other massive plant pests and diseases, EAB will eventually run its course. However, the industry will find itself staring down another villain soon enough. And we will live on to fight the next battle.
Name: Dave Bender.
Title: Executive director
Firm:Illinois Nurserymen’s Association,
2900 Greenbriar Drive,
Springfield,
IL62704; (888) 525-3900;
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
.
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