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Faith Thompson Campbell leads the Invasive Species Program for American Lands Alliance. She serves on the Invasive Species Advisory Committee created by Executive Order 13112. Dr. Campbell has been a nationally recognized leader on invasive species policy for a decade. In this capacity, she has served on advisory committees for USDA APHIS and the landmark study written by the Congressional Office of Technology Assessment. She earned a Ph.D. in politics from Princeton University. Scott E. Schlarbaum is the James R. Cox Professor of Forest Genetics in the Department of Forestry, Wildlife and Fisheries at the Institute of Agriculture, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville. He is the current Leader of the University of Tennessee's Tree Improvement Program. The UT Tree Improvement Program was initiated in 1959 and is directed toward meeting the needs of the timber, paper, recreational and Christmas tree industries in Tennessee and to restore tree species that have been decimated by exotic forest pest species. Professor Schlarbaum was educated at Colorado State University [B.S. (College of Forestry) and Ph.D.(College of Agriculture)] and the University of Nebraska [M.S. (Institute of Agriculture)]. Acknowledgments: The authors wish to acknowledge the assistance of the Healing Stones Foundation, which generously provided the majority of funds used for publishing this study. We also would like to acknowledge Renee A. Follum for graciously granting us permission to use her artwork on the inner title page and compact disc, and Gary R. Dagnan, The University of Tennessee, for assistance in developing the cover page. Cover Page Photographs: Shipping containers at the Port of Long Beach, California; courtesy of Robert Kanter, Director of Planning and Environmental Affairs, Port of Long Beach, California Sudden Oak Death on rhododendron at a nursery in California: Bruce Moltzan, Missouri Department of Conservation Published by the Healing Stones Foundation in cooperation with the American Lands Alliance and The University of Tennessee, Knoxville. 2002 ii Table of Contents Executive Summary………...……………………………………………………………………………….1 Chapter 1: Introduction………………………………………………………………………….... ………6 • The Public and Biological Pollution ………………………………………………....……8 • Environmental Concern About Exotic Forest Pests……………………………………....9 • Recent and Potential Problems…………………………………………………………..10 • The Costs of the Exotic Forest Pest Problem in North American Forest Ecosystems…..12 Chapter 2: Pathways to America………………………………………………………………………...14 • Forest Susceptibility……………………………………………………………………...14 • International Trade and Exotic Pest Prevention………………………………………….14 • Primary Pathways of Introduction……………………………………………………….15 o Nursery Related Materials……………………………………………………...16 o Minimally Processed Wood……………………………………………………17 o Solid Wood Packing Materials…………………………………………………19 Chapter 3: Weaknesses in Laws, Policies, and Strategy in Prevention, Eradication, and Control of Exotic Pests…………………………………………………21 • Problems With International Trade Policy………………………………………………21 • The Costs of Preparing Risk Assessments………………………………………………26 • Treaty to Establish a Free Trade Area of the Americas…………………………………26 • Problems with APHIS…………………………………………………………………...28 • Inadequate Regulation of the Three Primary Pathways for Forest Pest Introductions….33 • The Plant Protection Act……………………………………………………………...…52 • National Invasive Species Council………………………………………………………53 Chapter 4: Conclusion and Recommendations: What We Can Do to Protect America’s Forests…………………………………………………………………54 • Specific Steps…………………………………………………………………………….55 • Treaties, Policies, and Regulations - What Changes Can Be Made Today……………...56 • Agreement to Establish A Free Trade Area of the Americas…………………………....59 • National Policy and Regulation………………………………………………………….59 • Focusing APHIS on Prevention………………………………………………………….59 • Approaches to Prevention and Risk Assessment………………………………………...60 • National Invasive Species Council……………………………………………………....63 • Homeland Security and APHIS………………………………………………………….64 • The Need for a National Center on Bioinvasion…………………………………………65 • Closing Statement………………………………………………………………………..70 Gallery of Pests…………………………………………………………………………………………….71 Appendix 1: Common and Scientific Names of Plant and Animal Species……………………………84 Appendix 2: Summaries of Regulations, Laws, and International Agreements………………………89 Appendix 3: Proposed Amendments to the World Trade Organization’s Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures………………………………104 Literature Cited…………………………………………………………………………………………..114 iii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Challenge North American forests have suffered enormous damage caused by insects and diseases introduced from abroad. Some tree species have been virtually eliminated as integral components of the forest, including the beloved American chestnut, while other species are currently suffering severe declines. The affect of an exotic species on forest ecosystems can be profound and extend beyond the host species. White pine blister rust has caused dramatic mortality in North American forests dominated by five-needle pines. This impact has extended to flora and fauna that depend upon host species for habitat and food. The grizzly bear depends upon the seeds of the whitebark pine for fattening up before its hibernation. Yet ninety percent of whitebark pines in the northern Rocky Mountains have been killed by the introduced pathogen white pine blister rust. In California, several species of oak in already stressed woodlands are dying from a recently introduced pathogen, Sudden Oak Death. These ecosystem impacts grow every year as more invasive species enter the country as a result of rising trade and trade agreements that have forfeited the public’s right to protect our natural heritage. Monetary costs are also significant. Public agencies have already spent tens of millions of dollars attempting to eradicate just one of several recently introduced pests, the Asian long-horned beetle. If this beetle escapes current containment efforts, it will cost an estimated $600 billion to replace city trees killed by it. Additional losses would take the form of reduced tourism built around viewing the colorful autumn leaves, maple syrup sales, and timber production. This report focuses on describing the resulting heightened threat to just one vulnerable ecosystem, forests. The danger to many other ecosystems, however, is similar and will exist as long as strong protection measures are not adopted. During the 1990s, managers of natural resources and agriculture have had to respond to numerous introduced pests, including three beetles that threaten a variety of hardwood trees across the continent (the Asian longhorned beetle, citrus longhorned beetle, and emerald ash borer) and a pathogen threatening oak trees in the West Coast as well as Middle West and East (Sudden Oak Death pathogen). Several other pests damaging to agricultural production have entered the country during the same period. Experts have warned for at least a decade that the United States Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is falling behind in carrying out its responsibility to protect American natural and agricultural resources by preventing the introduction to the United States of damaging invasive species and responding rapidly and effectively when an introduction is detected. The principal reasons are that: (1) international trade agreements impede adoption of effective safeguards; (2) burgeoning import volumes overwhelm APHIS’ resources; (3) APHIS is torn between the conflicting goals of facilitating trade and preventing introductions; and (4) the agency has not adopted the most efficient approaches to prevent introductions. “Balancing” Trade and Protection Over the past decade, the U.S. Government has led campaigns for international trade agreements that simultaneously promote trade and restrict APHIS’ ability to prevent the introduction of pests hitchhiking on imported goods. Provisions in the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Standards (SPS Agreement), the 1997 amendments to the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC), and the draft treaty to establish a Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) have undercut sensible phytosanitary safeguards and will likely result in inordinate numbers of forest pests becoming established in the country. The United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) emphasis on trade promotion does not make sense from an economic point of view from the perspective of the general public. Introduced plant pests, weeds, and diseases of livestock cost the Nation $90 billion per year, 80 percent more than the $50 billion earned by agricultural exports each year. As illustrated by the Asian longhorned beetle case, these already substantial costs could rise significantly in the near future. Exotic insects and diseases that threaten the tree species of North American forests enter the country primarily as hitchhikers on three kinds of imports: living plants, logs and lumber, and solid wood packaging. In attempting to balance the conflicting goals of promoting trade while preventing introductions of harmful exotic organisms, APHIS accepts what it terms a “negligible” risk of pest introduction. In practice, however, APHIS has embraced risk levels of three to five percent, as with logs and lumber imported from New Zealand and Chile, which is far too lax to be considered negligible.