What can be done to prevent the importation of forest pests? Cary Institute forest ecologist Gary Lovett talks about changes to the US Farm Bill now being discussed in Congress and actions that would build on current policy proposals to prevent new damaging forest pests from arriving in the US.
Current pest outbreaks damaging trees throughout the US, including spotted lanternfly (mid-Atlantic Northeast US), emerald ash borer (now in 34 states from Maine to Texas and still expanding), and sudden oak death (California and Oregon).
Currently, homeowners and local communities bear the economic and environmental burden of imported forest pests and diseases – to the tune of billions of trees and billions of dollars per year.
