New Regulations Proposed by U.S. Department of Agriculture to Help Stem the Tide of Non-Native Pests

New Regulations Proposed by U.S. Department of Agriculture to Help Stem the
Tide of Non-Native Pests

Four hundred non-native insects and plant diseases are wreaking havoc across
North America

ARLINGTON, Va., Oct. 16 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Nature Conservancy
(www.nature.org), working with industry partners and scientists, is supporting
revamped regulations proposed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to
improve its ongoing efforts to block non-native insects and diseases from
entering the country and protect American homeowners, businesses, agriculture
and native trees.

First adopted in 1918, U.S. regulations governing international trade in
plants have remained fundamentally unchanged as this trade has mushroomed to
at least 500 million plants imported each year. The U.S. government is
accepting public comments until Oct. 21 on the revised rules.

"The USDA's proposed regulations are a vital step in the right direction. The
rules will do more to prevent foreign insects and pathogens from entering the
country, rather than have citizens, business owners and communities bear the
costly burden of controlling an invasion," says Frank Lowenstein, director of
the Conservancy's Forest Health Program.

Industry and conservationists are uniting ahead of the change in plant import
regulations by launching a new educational campaign, Plant Smart, to encourage
careful planting and to support actions that result in better protection of
America's trees from harmful foreign species.

"The nursery industry faces huge costs both to control the pests and in loss
of sales and other interruptions," says Jerry Lee, Environmental Services
Manager at Monrovia, a nursery that supplies more than 5,000 garden centers
nationwide.

The USDA, industry and conservationists agree that stronger federal
regulations are needed on plant imports. The USDA's Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service (APHIS) is the primary agency tasked with preventing the
entry of potentially invasive pests and pathogens through nursery plant
imports and other pathways. Without updated regulations, homeowners,
horticulture and timber-related businesses, forest land owners, and
governments all face billions of dollars in lost revenues or costs to control
the pests.

"Invasive foreign pests and diseases are scarring landscapes in neighborhoods,
city parks, ski slopes and hiking trails, and killing the trees that bring us
maple syrup, fine furniture and Major League Baseball bats," says Faith
Campbell, senior policy representative at the Conservancy.

To comment on these new rules go to:
http://www.regulations.gov/search/Regs/home.html#submitComment?R=09000064809f95fc
or call 1-877-378-5457 for assistance.

To learn more about the Plant Smart campaign and for tips on how the nursery
industry and consumers can help prevent the spread of invasive foreign pests,
visit www.plantsmart.org in the coming weeks.

SOURCE The Nature Conservancy

Shannon Crownover, +1-202-316-6994, scrownover@tnc.org, or Cindy Yeast,
+1-202-236-5413, cdyeast@earthlink.net