Sudden Oak Death Updates (Cumulative)
Background
Sudden Oak Death is associated with the fungus Phytophora ramorum. This disease was first identified in California during the mid
1990’s and has continued to spread in the State of California and has now been found in southern Oregon. The disease causes rapid
death in Oak and a number of other genuses.
The disease does not exist in Canada and if it became established may pose a significant threat to forests, nursery stocks and
ornamental plants. Because of this threat the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) began discussions with the US Department of
Agriculture (USDA) two years ago. CFIA has applied increasing pressure since then for the USDA carry out surveys and control the
movement of plants and soil from infected areas. To date the USDA has not responded to repeated CFIA requests.
Present Situation
SODS has spread out of California and into the State of Oregon, thereby increasing concern. Unlike California, the Oregon
infestation is presently considered eradicatable. The USDA to date has not engaged CFIA in implementing measures for survey and
control. The CFIA therefore has had no choice but to implemented restrictions on the movement of host plant material and soil from
California and Oregon. These restrictions are described in the D memo D-01-01 INTERIM PHYTOSANITARY REQUIREMENTS TO
PREVENT THE ENTRY OF THE Phytophthora ramorum ASSOCIATED WITH SUDDEN OAK DEATH FROM THE NETHERLANDS,
GERMANY AND THE UNITED STATES
The fundamentals of this D memo prohibits the import of the following commodities from Germany, the Netherlands, California and
Oregon:
- Soil
- Soil in association with plant (including plants in soil-less media)
- Propagative and untreated non-propagative commodities of: Quercus (oak), Lithocarpus (tanbark oak), Rhododendron
(Rhododendron and azalea), Aesculus (horse chestnut), Arbutus (madrone or strawberry tree) Viburnum (arrowood)
Arctostaphylos (kinnikinnick or manzanita) Lonicera (honeysuckle), Acer (maple), Rhamnus (buckthorn) - The following specific species: Umbellularia californica (California bay or Oregon myrtle) Vaccinium ovatum (California
huckleberry) Heteromeles arbutifolia (Christmas berry, toyon, California holly)
NOTE: This list is subject to change as it is a new pathogen and there is relatively little scientific data host range. Bare-root
plants outside the host range will be permitted. The detailed D memo can be found at: http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/plaveg/protect/dir/d-01-01e.shtml#Appendix%201
US Industry Reaction
At the present time the American Nursery Landscape Association (ANLA) has also been trying to convince the USDA to carry out
surveys and to control the movement of soil and host plants from infected areas. The US industry does not want to see this disease
spread throughout the US. The Nursery association offices in the Western US, as recently as two weeks ago discussed their need for
action with respect to Sudden Oak Death at the WRNAE (Western Regional Nursery Association Executives) meetings. In addition to
the US industry trying to convince the USDA to take measures, the US Forest Service has also been requesting action be taken to
control the spread of this pathogen.
Actions Taken By CNLA and Provincial Associations
- CNLA is in frequent discussion with CFIA on the progress of this situation.
- CNLA organized a national growers conferencecall to determine what actions need to be taken.
- CNLA has organized various members from across Canada to call their major US suppliers to put pressure on USDA.
- CNLA is keeping in frequent contact with ANLA.
- Provincial Associations and grower representatives are being kept up to date.
Next Steps
It is critical that US exporters of nursery products and the US Nursery Associations pressure the USDA to immediately become
involved in dealing with SODS. The USDA needs to carryout adequate surveys to delineate the infected areas. If this is done then it is
most likely that CFIA will move the areas of prohibited movement to coincide with these infected areas. These measures taken by CFIA
are very similar to those taken by USDA during the BC Gypsy Moth infestation on Vancouver Island.
If the US industry and USDA can certify (to CFIA requirements) that their soil-less media from infected areas is free from
Phytophora ramorum then there is a reasonable chance that CFIA would allow the importation of plants grown in this media to enter
Canada.
- This was a short week for the US authorities due to the thanksgiving holiday, however progress remains steady.
- The quarantine remains in place for all areas inside Oregon and California. However, counties not currently known to be infested
should get a reprieve as soon as late next week by way of an interim policy. The wording for import permits is almost done for
the interim policy, and when complete will allow movement of non-host species into Canada. Host species will still not be
permitted until the completion of the delineation survey (expected in 5-6 weeks). - Counties known to be infested will remain under quarantine indefinitely, and will have to work towards certification under the sterile soiless media program in order to move plants outside their counties into non-infested areas. This will likely be in place
for a long time. - Counties currently known to be infested are: Alameda, Marin, Mendocino, Monterey, Napa, San Mateo, Santa Cruz, Santa Clara, Sonoma, and Solano in California. In Oregon, Curry County is still the only one known to be infested.
- Plans are underway for the CNLA in cooperation with the ANLA, USDA, and CFIA to develop an alert describing what SOD is, how to recognize it, and who to contact in the event of a discovery. This will be in effort to identify any possible outbreaks around Canada, and the US so they can be eradicated before they get too large.
- There is an excellent web site on SOD put out by the University of California at Berkeley the address is; www.suddenoakdeath.org
- We are still anticipating a reduction of the quarantine boundaries early in the new year.
More updates will follow as they come in.
- The situation in Oregon remains well in hand. The Oregon Department of Agriculture had implemented policy measures late last year in effort to control spread from infested areas in California. They have also been doing survey work that will help cut down the time required to reduce the quarantine zone from state wide, to the one “known to be infested” county. It is understood that
the ODA will attempt eradication of the outbreak in that one county, and it is expected that this will be successful. The CFIA is
expecting the reduction of quarantine zones by no later than January 31st based on their communication with the USDA. This is
a USDA timeline. There are Oregon nurseries that have advised they may cut back Canadian orders if this situation is not
resolved by mid January. If you receive such a notice contact the nursery and assure them that in the case of Oregon nurseries,
the situation will be resolved before January 31st. - The California situation is less optimistic than that of Oregon. It is understood that neither the California agriculture officials, nor
the USDA regulated movement of soil or host species within their state as Oregon had. This coupled with the lack of survey data
has left doubts as to weather there are not more than the 10 already known infested counties. To this date it is still unclear if the
necessary survey work is under way, at least the CFIA has not been presented with any such data. This means that counties
that don’t have SOD will still remain under the current directive along with infested counties until the required survey work is
completed. Any growers who import product from California should contact them and encourage them to address this situation
with their state, and federal authorities. At this point the CFIA believes it will be a while (a year was mentioned) before
California’s quarantine zones could be reduced. In the mean time a prohibition of soil, and host plants will likely remain in effect.
The California situation seems to get worse as time wears on. Let’s hope there is some good data out there that we just don’t
know about yet. - Due to the changed regulations, import permits will have to be re applied for if you are planning on bringing in stock from Oregon
or California this coming spring. It would be best to wait until early January to re apply, by then the final changes to the directive
should be in place. If you need to import stock sooner than January you can apply for a permit under an interim directive, but
then you will have to re apply again later after the final changes have been made. - We have further clarified the issue of root washing. Plants imported into Canada from infested counties will have to be free from
soil as stated in the current directive. Although it is not likely that inspectors will expect roots from the US to be as clean as
plants originating from Europe, and that a “light dusting will be permitted” the decision as to whether roots are or are not
sufficiently clean will be made by individual inspectors at the time of inspection. In other words root systems which have been
simply field shaken, with clumps of soil still attached will be refused, therefore some amount of root washing will have to be
done. Again, this will not be required for plants originating from within non-infested counties, once the quarantine zones have
been reduced. - The most recent OAN newsletter has an article which states concern for the apparent overreaction on the part the CFIA with
their SOD directive. They further state the proactive measures taken by the ODA to ensure the protection of the nursery industry
from SOD (these are mentioned above). Unfortunately, in international phytosanitary matters it is the USDA that bears the
responsibility to regulate, and it is the USDA that needs to be in communication with the CFIA. It is important to note that the
CFIA formally approached the USDA with their concerns on this issue back in October 2000 at a North American Plant
Protection Organization meeting. This did not lead to formal discussion. Further the CFIA had through the course of the following
year, sent out no less than four letters of engagement on the issue all of which failed to get the attention of the USDA. It is also
well known that the US forest service also had voiced their concerns to no avail. The point is that we should focus our energy on
the target. Lets continue to ask our American colleagues to press the USDA to provide the data required to resolve this issue.
The delineation survey data is critical, and to date the CFIA has not seen any. - In the mean time we will continue to have weekly meetings with the CFIA, more updates will follow. These updates along with other relevant information will be posted on the canadanursery.com web site.
USDA has sent a letter to CFIA, which endorses the Oregon program. Oregon has put together a solid program of nursery surveys
ahead of the CFIA action. This proved to be a good and beneficial action on their part, making it easy for the USDA to endorse. CFIA is
satisfied with the contents of the letter.
CFIA is going to amend the current directive, to remove all of Oregon (except Currey county) from the regulated area. Expect this to
happen between two and three weeks. Unfortunately at this time there is still no word for the rest of the U.S.
CFIA is meeting with USDA in Annapolis, Md. this week to try to iron out any remaining differences. Failure to iron out these
differences could lead to further quarantines and/or individual state run certification programs. Individual states are putting pressure to
ensure these are ironed out ASAP.
Pressure must be kept up on the USDA to ensure that the program is installed and protection is provided for the rest of the states as
well as Canada.
There is concern for the strawberry industry and movement of plants from California. There will be a major shortfall of plants here in
Canada if movement is restricted. A further concern is the shipments of plant materials for Valentines Day i.e. Azaleas. If not resolved,
there could be a severe shortage in materials
Next up date in a week.
As of January 23 Oregon has been removed from the CFIA regulation controlling SOD, with the exception of Currey County. You can go
ahead now and apply for import permits. It is possible that some of the CFIA staff you are talking with may not be up to speed on this
yet, if this is the case just ask them to go to the CFIA web page, the new directive has been posted for a few days now, otherwise they
can contact their local regional manager.
The next bi-lateral meeting between the CFIA and USDA will be on February 12th and 13th, the hope is that there will be some
movement toward meaningful controls against the spread of SOD.
If you are planning on bringing in any of the 15 host genera from any where in the continental US, it is advised that you update your
import permit to include them. If you have a valid import permit, fax a copy of it in to CFIA with a list of any of the 15 genera you plan to
bring in.
The CFIA and USDA met this week to discuss the ways the two agencies interact on issues. They used the SOD situation as a case
study. The US was taking the approach that they were ambushed by Canada; that the directive sprang up without any notification, and
that Canada just slammed the door shut. To this end the CFIA produced a 3-page chronology of events, detailing the letters and
messages that were sent to the USDA which were ultimately not reacted to. The CFIA position is that no one wants to be put in this
situation but when an issue has not been addressed for a year and a half it’s not acceptable especially when it has an impact on both
trade and risk to the environment. SOD has been a good example of the need for the USDA and the CFIA to work together in a North
American context. Similarly, I believe the nursery industry needs to look beyond provincial, state, or national boarders when dealing
with regulatory issues. We all need to find better ways of working together to protect ourselves against the seemingly endless stream
of new pest introductions. There are currently a number of exotic pests that have recently been introduced into the US and the CFIA
are currently doing risk assessment on them. The CFIA know that some of them will have an impact on Canada and regulatory
changes will have to be made. To quote a senior CFIA official “We’re headed for some difficult days ahead and unfortunately most of
them will impact the nursery sector”.
Together with the Canadian Forest Service, the CFIA has been working on a plan for a survey in Canada. This will be a cross Canada
survey with a planned target date of the middle of June. These surveys, designed to find new pest introductions before they become
widespread, are not new. What is new is the alarmingly high rate of new pest finds.
The CNLA growers group along with the provincial associations is currently working on the implementation of a strategic plan. A major
component of the plan will be aimed at mitigating the impact these new pests, and the regulations that accompany them, have on our
industry. I urge you to watch for these initiatives through your provincial growers groups, and strongly support them.
A number of growers and retailers have reported problems with import permit requirements, even though the CFIA has now altered its
regulations relative to Oregon. It appears the problems were the result of the time it took for information on the changes to be received
by Oregon growers. Shane Sela, CFIA has spoken with the Oregon Department of Agriculture who says that most nurseries should
now be aware of the return to more normal shipping practices. However, they caution that it is possible some remote nurseries may not
yet be aware of the regulatory change.
Here are the questions we asked Shane:
Question: If a Canadian grower had an existing import permit prior to SOD, do they now need anything else – from the USDA point of
view?
Answer: Depends on where the importation is coming from. If the permit was for any of the non-regulated states the answer is no (see
also answers below). If the grower intended on bringing material from California the answer is yes, because it is regulated.
Question: If a Canadian grower is bringing into BC from Oregon any of the 15 regulated species, does he/she need an import permit
from Oregon?
Answer: Yes.
Question: If a BC grower is bringing into BC the 15 regulated species from anywhere other than Oregon, do they need an import
permit?
Answer: Yes. As per the directive the 15 regulated species are regulated from anywhere in the U.S.
The Canadian policy is now in its 5th revision
The Strawberry Certification Program is still an issue for CFIA. They have not been able to obtain a response from the USDA this past
week, which is closing the gap on the drop-deadline of March 15 for that sector. The process in California is not clear enough, with
survey work not having been done and the status of counties unclear. CFIA continues to seek feedback from USDA.
The USDA Interim Rule currently meets the immediate needs for spring shipments but not perfect. The CFIA Pest Risk Assessment
Unit feels it is sufficient to stop movement to other states and this will negate the need for Canada to quarantine the rest of the states.
However, once the public hearings are finished, a new determination will have to be developed. This will include the difference between
the recognition of the level of hosts – Canada continues to look at the genera level while the USDA views the hosts at the species level.
There have been relatively few finds at nursery levels and Canada is prepared to consider alternative methods of testing for California.
But California needs to develop a Certification Program. See previous reports
CFIA is constantly reviewing the policy, staying fluid and not fixed. They hope the US will see this and act similarly.
Bottom line is “business as usual” with the United States. California and Curry County in Oregon both still remain under the
current regulation.
JEFF HICKS (Growers Canada, Chair)
