USDA IMPLEMENTS IMPORT RULES GUARDING AGAINST GYPSY MOTHS

USDA IMPLEMENTS IMPORT RULES GUARDING AGAINST GYPSY MOTHS    The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has implemented new import rules to guard against gypsy moths from Canada.
   The agency is particularly concerned about the movement of gypsy moth infested Christmas trees, logs and pulpwood from the Canadian provinces of British Columbia, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario and Quebec to non-infested regions in the United States.
   For years, APHIS has regulated the interstate movement of gypsy moth host materials. On Aug. 23, APHIS published an interim rule establishing specific rules in its foreign quarantine notices regarding the import of gypsy moths from other countries.
   Wood products from gypsy moth infested Canadian regions will require a certificate of origin. If the wood products are not from infested areas, a certification statement on the shipping documents about where they’re grown or produced is all that’s required.
   For more information, contact Coanne O’Hern, operations officer at APHIS’ Invasive Species and Pest Management Office at (301) 734-8247.