[APWG] NEWS: Updated USDA Regulations Effective June 27 Will Help Stem the Tide of Harmful Non-Native Plants and Pests
Olivia Kwong
plant at plantconservation.org
Thu Jun 16 08:01:15 CDT 2011
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/updated-usda-regulations-effective-june-27-will-help-stem-the-tide-of-harmful-non-native-plants-and-pests-123912249.html
Updated USDA Regulations Effective June 27 Will Help Stem the Tide of
Harmful Non-Native Plants and Pests
Revised rules will help prevent future infestations of non-native invasive
insects, diseases, and plants
ARLINGTON, Va., June 15, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The U.S.
Department of Agriculture (USDA) has finalized changes to regulations
governing international trade in plants used in gardening and landscape
design, which will go into effect on June 27, 2011. The Nature Conservancy
has encouraged the USDA to revise these antiquated regulations to improve
the ongoing efforts by the Department's Animal and Plant Health Inspection
Service (APHIS) to prevent potentially invasive plants and pests from
entering the country. As was recently discussed in a controversial article
in the June 9th edition of Nature magazine, the threat of invasive species
is easily -- and wrongly -- confused as the incrimination of all
non-native species. In fact, the regulations finalized by USDA-APHIS have
put in place new systems that allow imported materials to be judged by
their invasiveness potential, not simply by their non-native status.
See the link above for the full press release text.
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