Dear
Forest Pest Mavens,
I
believe you agree with me that non-native insects, pathogens, earthworms … and
other organisms! … pose significant threats to North America’s tree species and
the complex ecosystems of which they are such important components.
I
hope you also agree that our society’s efforts to counter this threat fall far
short of what is needed.
·
Official phytosanitary policies are not as
strong as needed to prevent introduction and spread of these tree-killing
pests.
·
Worse, those policies are not always enforced
assertively – as I documented in my blog about a shipment of auto parts posted
on 9 August.
·
The Congress does not provide sufficient funds
and other resources to support active detection and response programs – either
early in an invasion or later.
· Businesses that import or trade in goods or packaging that
can transport pests are not held responsible for taking actions aimed at
reducing the likelihood of such transport or supporting recovery efforts.
Opposing free trade has become a hot button election issue but one of its worst
impacts -- wholesale movement of pests -- is never mentioned.
As I
noted in my earlier blog, a key reason we see these weaknesses is because those
who want stronger programs have not had an effective voice in educating federal
policy-makers – the USDA secretary, senators, and members of Congress – about
the damage caused by introduced tree-killing pests and the governmental actions
needed to counter those impacts.
The
election provides both a deadline and an opportunity.
The
deadline: we should try to finalize some APHIS-proposed actions before this
Administration leaves office. Outgoing officials often feel freer to take bold
actions at this time.
The
opportunities:
1)
New officials who take office in January might
be open to addressing “new” issues. We
must begin efforts now to get our “asks” on their agenda. Specifically, we should approach the senators who will question appointees to USDA
Secretary and Under Secretary positions during their confirmation
processes. We should urge them to ask
candidates how they would address plant
pests and to make firm, specific commitments to do so
2)
Also, Congress is beginning to consider
provisions to include in the next Farm Bill (due to be passed by 2019).
Several
coalitions work to raise the political profile of non-native, tree-killing
pests, i.e., the Coalition Against Forest Pests; Sustainable Urban Forestry
Coalition; Reduce Risk from Invasive Species Coalition; Continental Dialogue on
Non-Native Forest Insects and Diseases.
Many of the nation-wide forest-related organizations are members of one
or more of these coalitions and I work hard for many of them. They are
absolutely essential. . .
However,
such “big tent” coalitions are unlikely to press for truly bold solutions, especially if new
policies involve serious costs to
economic interests or industries that are part of their membership. There is
nothing nefarious in this; it is the way coalitions operate. In the case of
forests pest issues, though, the absence of more forceful and nimble groups
leaves a policy vacuum that no one currently
fills.
Furthermore,
these coalitions don’t offer an opportunity to concerned individuals and
smaller organizations to learn about phytosanitary threats or provide them with
opportunities to influence policy.
In
the past, I have tried to provide this information through my one-way emails
and blog postings. I would like now to
upgrade these communications and to provide you with a way to interact with me
and others, as well as to form joint positions.
The goal is to re-balance the politics of phytosanitary policy – so that
our political leaders understand and support both adoption and enforcement of
strong, effective phytosanitary measures.
I
suggest that we form a new, loose “coalition of the willing” who are ready to
speak up and seek ways to stay abreast of developments and opportunities and to
coordinate their actions with those of like-minded people. I suggest a loose structure –
·
I undertake to set up an email network that
everyone could use. It would:
o communicate
information about pest threats and opportunities to engage;
o communications
could be initiated by anyone in the group (either through a “reply all”
function or my promise to re-send any email sent to me -- with the request that
I do so);
o encourage
people to work together – with my assistance – to form joint positions;
o provide
lists of key contacts for specific issues -- perhaps with specific talking points, letter templates,
etc., to help in reaching out;
·
There would be no cost to participants;
·
Participants could take part anonymously if
they wish – either generally or on specific issues;
·
If there is sufficient interest or need, we
could form a steering committee to streamline and help guide the work;
· Our goal would be communications that are straight-forward
and clear -- to each other and to policymakers -- while avoiding gratuitous
insults or insinuations.
Examples
of issues on which I believe a new group could productively engage (and which
the “big tent” coalitions likely will avoid) are:
·
Helping APHIS finalize its proposal to require
that wood packaging coming from Canada conform to ISPM#15 standards (see blog
posted on 9 August). We need to press
the USDA leadership to approve the proposal; then press the Office of
Management and Budget to approve it.
·
Press USDA to take two steps to improve
enforcement of ISPM#15:
o End
the policy of not fining importers for non-compliant wood packaging until they
have five (!) non-compliances within a single year.
o Declare
wood packaging to be a high-risk import and thus subject to mandatory
inspection by Customs
·
Press Customs and Border Protection to include
wood packaging compliance under its Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism
(C-TPAT) program.
· Seek agreement on a strategy to encourage importers to
shift to packaging made from materials other than solid wood boards. Proposals
range from new regulatory requirements to C-TPAT to green certification-type
voluntary programs.
I
welcome suggestions for other topics we might explore!
Please
let me know that you would like to join this coalition. Please
feel free to forward this message and to invite others to join in.
Faith
