Pests and Disease

Understanding forest management on the Pacific Islands can be difficult for anyone who has not left the mainland. Especially when you consider the subtle differences in the landscapes. Island forests are highly diverse, most forest landowners manage smaller parcels than those in the contiguous U.S., and the economic benefits of the forest stretch beyond timber production into tourism.

This week NASF President Randy Dye testified on invasive species before the House Committee on Natural Resources, Subcommittee on Public Lands and Environmental Regulation. During his testimony, Mr. Dye stressed the importance of continued and improved collaboration between federal, state and local partners to help deal with the increasing issue of invasive species on all forest land.

Citrus greening, a bacterial disease with no cure, has infected all 32 of Florida’s citrus-growing counties. While the bacteria, which causes fruit to turn bitter and drop from the trees when still unripe, affects all citrus fruits, it has been most devastating to oranges, the largest crop.

The Central Texas oak trees that help shade homes and beautify neighborhoods are falling prey to an incurable and deadly disease. Oak wilt is a fungal disease that has caused tree deaths in 74 Texas counties.

Trees infected with oak wilt can spread the disease to surrounding oaks via their interconnected root systems. When that happens, the only way to stop further spread is by digging trenches to break the root connections.

This week NASF teamed up with the Coalition Against Forest Pests to submit written testimony to the Senate Committee on Appropriations - Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration and Related Agencies. The testimony encouraged the continued funding for programs at the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS).

This week NASF joined numerous organizations in the forestry community in letters to the Senate.

Last week NASF carried forward concerns from state foresters regarding APHIS response to Emerald Ash Borer Beetle. The concerns were given during an APHIS Stakeholder Meeting on April 11.

You can view the video of the entire meeting on the USDA - APHIS website. Once the video is loaded, you can see NASF's comments at about the 42:00 minute mark.

A unique, web-based Federal resource for finding species in the U. S. and territories, the Biodiversity Information Serving Our Nation (or BISON) is the only system of its kind.

The resource offers more than 100 million mapped records of nearly every living species nationwide and growing. And the vast majority of the records are specific locations, not just county or state records. BISON displays results in both an interactive map and a list format.