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October 2008 Welcome to the Continental Dialogue Newsletter! 
General News

  Dialogue Updates

  Of Interest

Note to users on Government computers: please scroll to the bottom to get help with using links in the newsletter

October Pest Quiz!

Before the Gold-spotted oak borer was discovered in California this summer, what was the damage it caused ascribed to?

Answer in the next newsletter...

Answer to the June Pest Quiz!

In very serious outbreaks, some experts say Light brown apple moth caterpillars can shed enough hairs to cause irritation if inhaled.

Come to the Annual Meeting!   
The 4th annual meeting is approaching- November 12th and 13th, 2008 in Emerald ash borer country: Grand Rapids, Michigan... [read more] 
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Forest Pest Discoveries, Summer 2008
New infestations, and two new insect pests, were discovered this summer in North America... [read more]

Q - 37 Efforts Continue
Efforts to promote a wider support base for the Q-37 Consensus Recommendations, developed by a working group of Dialogue participants, have met with significant success since June 2008... [read more]

Meeting with USDA and APHIS staff
This September, several members of the Continental Dialogue steering committee met with USDA Chief of Staff Dale Moore, Under Secretary Bruce Knight, and Rebecca Bech and Kevin Shea of APHIS...  [read more]   

DontMoveFirewood.org Moving Right Along
dmf-logo-281-px.jpg Since the launch of DontMoveFirewood.org, we’ve had over 32,000 visitors to our site, nearly 7000 video views, and 750 people “friend” us (i.e., join our network) on MySpace...[read more]

New Farm Bill Helps in the Fight against Invasives
Approximately every five years, Congress passes a new “Farm Bill” – the legislation which authorizes all of the programs carried out by the U.S. Department of Agriculture ... [read more]

51st Southern Forest Insect Work Conference
A two hour session titled “Regulating firewood movement to combat the spread of invasive pests: State perspectives” was held at the 51st Southern Forest Insect Work Conference...  [read more]

Dialogue Member Profile: Nadine Block
Steering Committee member Nadine Block is the first in our series of Continental Dialogue member profiles...  [read more]

Come to the Annual Meeting (full story)

The 4th annual meeting is approaching- this year we are going to a hard-hit city in Emerald ash borer country: Grand Rapids, Michigan on November 12th and 13th, 2008. Our speakers will hail from various communities around the region that are affected by forest pests like Emerald ash borer, Asian longhorned beetle, and others. Talks and breakout sessions at the meeting will define and begin our 2009 work on prevention, eradication, education, management, federal funding, regulation, and much more. Click to view the Annual meeting invitation, agenda, or registration form. We look forward to seeing you there!

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Forest Pest Discoveries, Summer 2008 (full story)

New infestations, and two new insect pests, were discovered this summer. Below is a sampling of new developments in the realm of North American forest pests.

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Q - 37 Efforts Continue (full story)

Efforts to promote a wider support base for the Q-37 Consensus Recommendations, developed by a working group of Dialogue participants, have met with significant success since June 2008. The Q-37 regulations, which govern imports of live plants, represent the first line of defense against one major pathway by which plant pests are introduced.

Many of the stakeholders participating in the Continental Dialogue believe that it would be desirable for the regulations to move forward swiftly. To this end, Faith Campbell of TNC, chair of Working Group 1, has visited Indiana, Florida, Georgia, and Oregon with the goal of persuading key constituencies to support the Consensus Recommendations. Jerry Lee of Monrovia nursery – another active Dialogue participant - played key role in working with the constituencies in Florida, Georgia, and Oregon. 

The visits conducted this summer have resulted in letters to USDA Secretary Edward T. Schafer urging prompt revision to the Q-37 regulation and, in some cases, explicit endorsement of the Consensus Recommendations.  Letters to date have been sent by:

  • Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
  • Florida Native Plant Society
  • Florida Audubon
  • Georgia Department of Agriculture
  • Indiana chapter of the Society of American Foresters
  • Indiana Native Plant and Wildflower Society
  • Mississippi Department of Agriculture
  • Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski
  • Oregon chapter of the Society of American Foresters
  • Oregon Department of Agriculture
  • Oregon Department of Forestry
  • Oregon Invasive Species Council
  • Oregon Forest Industries Council
  • Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
  • Virginia Division of Forestry

Letters from additional agencies and organizations are under consideration. 

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Meeting with USDA and APHIS staff (full story) 

This September, several members of the Continental Dialogue steering committee met with USDA Chief of Staff Dale Moore, Under Secretary Bruce Knight, and Rebecca Bech and Kevin Shea of APHIS to discuss concerns about the delays in the Q-37 rulemaking, wood packaging regulations, firewood regulations, and funding for APHIS programs.  

Both Mr. Moore and Under Secretary Knight reiterated the priority USDA has assigned to the Q-37 rulemaking. While no promises were made, Moore noted that it would be useful to move the rulemaking ahead before new leadership arrives in the Department in 2009.  They also said that it is very helpful to have a position that is supported by a wide variety of stakeholders, ranging from those seeking to protect forests to those who depend on imported plants for their livelihoods. Steering committee members offered assistance in smoothing the review of the regulation at the Office of Management and Budget.

Meanwhile, we have learned from APHIS staff that a key Q-37 regulatory proposal has been approved by the USDA Office of General Counsel, but that additional review must still occur before the proposal can be released for public comment.

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"Don't Move Firewood" Moving Right Along (full story)

Since the launch of DontMoveFirewood.org, we’ve had 32,000 visitors to our site, nearly 7000 video views, and 750 people “friend” us (i.e., join our network) on MySpace.

What does this mean? It means that our website has had a good rollout. We have links on many Continental Dialogue members’ sites and a great list of supporting organizations. But we cannot stop here- the key to making this site effective will be active and continuing participation by members. To start with, if you ever have a news article, intriguing development, or even just an idea, please email Leigh (lgreenwood@tnc.org) and she will work to include it on the blog.

We are also looking into the future of our site. DontMoveFirewood.org will change with time. One likely direction we may take is to create a central repository for state regulations, a place where different agencies and groups can share information to further the cause of preventing the movement of firewood.

Perhaps most importantly, it is crucial that your organization help us spread the word about DontMoveFirewood.org. Without a presence in your newsletter, emails and websites we cannot expect people to keep visiting. To help, go to the media kit to download logos, blurbs, and more.

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New Farm Bill Helps in the Fight Against Invasives (full story) submitted by Lin Schmale

Approximately every five years, Congress passes a new “Farm Bill” – the legislation which authorizes all of the programs carried out by the U.S. Department of Agriculture – including nutrition, food stamps, conservation, research, energy, row-crop subsidy, and other programs.  This year’s Farm Bill, now Public Law 110-246, was finally passed by Congress in June of this year.  While several provisions on conservation, forestry, and research can be relevant to the fight against invasive species, one provision is of particular interest.   Section 10201 of the bill directs USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) to make available Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) funds to create a program enhancing early detection and rapid response to pest threats to domestic crop production – which of course will be of great benefit in our overall pest detection and eradication efforts.  The law directs that $12 million in mandatory funding shall be provided for Fiscal Year 2009, $45 million in Fiscal Year 2010, and $50 million in each of Fiscal Years 2011-2017.

APHIS is currently working with the National Plant Board and others to begin a plan of implementing this new money to strengthen APHIS detection and rapid response efforts to pests coming in, or potentially coming in, from overseas.  USDA noted, in an August presentation to the Plant Board, that its approach is in line with the need among “APHIS, other federal and state cooperators, and industry, to develop a vision of the future for pest detection.” 

APHIS’ current pest detection program is funded as an agency “line-item” in the annual appropriations process.  It will be important to ensure that appropriators do not decrease that annual funding in light of the new mandatory money.  The vision is to build on APHIS pest detection and eradication efforts, and is in line with that of the Continental Dialogue: to prevent the introduction of new, damaging pests, to minimize the spread of pests if they are introduced; and to predict, where possible, emerging threats to our ecosystems and agriculture. 

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51st Southern Forest Insect Work Conference (full story) submitted by Keith Douce

A two hour session titled “Regulating firewood movement to combat the spread of invasive pests: State perspectives” was held August 7, 2008 at the 51st Southern Forest Insect Work Conference (SFIWC) in Chattanooga, TN. The session was organized by Chris Asaro, Virginia Department of Forestry and featured presentations by several forest health specialists from across the southeastern U.S.  Dr. Keith Douce, a Dialogue steering committee member, briefly discussed the goals and mission of the Dialogue as well as pointed the approximately 50 attendees of the workshop to the Don’t Move Firewood website www.dontmovefirewood.org. Contact Keith Douce kdouce@uga.edu or see www.sfiwc.org for more information.

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Steering Committee Member Profile: Nadine Block (full story) graciously provided by Nadine Block

Nadine is a Director of Forest Policy at the American Forest & Paper Association, the national trade association of the forest, paper, and wood products industry. She advocates for policies and funding that encourage sustainable forest management on public and private forest lands.  Invasive insects and diseases pose a threat to the forestlands that support this industry, so AF&PA has engaged in the Continental Dialogue to collaborate on solutions. Nadine lives in Falls Church, VA, with her husband, 17-month old twin boys, and golden retriever, and enjoys playing ultimate frisbee in a local league.

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