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+--- Thread: Penalties for spreading pests (/showthread.php?tid=206226)
Penalties for spreading pests - davetclown - 06-11-2005
Legislators in Lansing have introduced a pair of bills that may help to limit the spread of potentially harmful plants and insects throughout the state.
Non-native, invasive insects, such as the emerald ash borer and gypsy moth, pose serious threats to the state's woodlands. Because non-native plants and insects do not have natural predators or competitors, some species may reproduce rapidly and overtake native species. Unchecked, the foreign invaders can permanently change the ecosystem of an area and become a costly nuisance.
Under state law, it's illegal to maintain or sell any vegetation, including trees, shrubs, vines and other plants that are or are suspected of being infected with potentially harmful diseases or insects. The Department of Agriculture is responsible for inspecting and controlling such vegetation.
The department must also inspect all commercial nurseries in the state at least once a year to make sure nursery stock is free from pests. Nurseries are not permitted to sell stock without an inspection. If an infection is found, the department may restrict the stock by removing infected vegetation.
The Department of Agriculture inspected about 12,000 acres of nursery stock in 2004, according to Ken Rauscher, the department's Pesticide and Pest Management Division director.
"We inspect all nurseries every year," he said. "We also inspect all Christmas trees for gypsy moths and pine shoot beetles, representing about another 12,000 acres."
The Department of Agriculture may also place quarantines on certain infected plants or trees to restrict them from being transported. Some quarantines have targeted the emerald ash borer, the pine shoot beetle, and the potato uberworm.
Rauscher said the department typically restricts or removes stock at every nursery each year, although those restrictions don't necessarily relate to violations of law. He added that most prosecutions in the state are for individuals ignoring quarantines.
"There are a number of prosecutions in the works ... eight or 10 in the works where logs and firewood (was transported)," Rauscher said. "In some cases, maybe it's a semi-trailer, others may be small firewood operations."
House Bills 4560 and 4562 would increase the penalties and fines for violating the state's invasive species laws or quarantines.
Under the bills, a person who violates the law or a quarantine may be charged with either a civil infraction or misdemeanor, fined from $500 to $10,000 and serve up to a year in prison, depending on the severity of the offense. A person who intentionally violates a quarantine may be charged with a felony, punishable by up to five years and/or a $250,000 fine.
The bills state a person violating the law could also be responsible for reimbursing the department for any costs or damages it incurs.
State Rep. Shelley Goodman Taub (R-Orchard Lake), a co-sponsor of the legislation, said she hopes that increased fines and penalties will increase awareness about some of the state's quarantines, which restrict the movement of infected vegetation throughout certain areas of the state.
"We have to bring awareness to people, especially those who make a living at cutting down trees," Taub said. "When you have trees infested with the emerald ash borer and you cut them down, you can't expect to make a profit on the wood left ... it must be treated properly ... you can't send the logs someplace if they are infested, because (the pest) will spread all over the state.
The emerald ash borer is an exotic beetle that is native to Asia, and has been causing millions of dollars in damage in southeast Michigan since the summer of 2002. The insects feed exclusively on ash trees in North America, tunneling through the bark as larvae and eventually boring their way out, destroying the infected tree in the process. According to the Michigan Department of Agriculture, the emerald ash border infestation has cost Michigan more than $11.6 million in damage since the insect's introduction in the state.
Ash trees infected by the beetle become weak and eventually die, posing a safety hazard for residents and municipalities with infected trees near roads, homes and other structures.
"We went through it with the Dutch elm disease years ago," Taub said. "If we would have been able to catch it ahead of time, it may have been wonderful."
by [url "http://www.spinalcolumnonline.com/1editorialtablebody.lasso?-token.searchtype=authorroutine&-token.lpsearchstring=Kevin%20Elliott&-nothing"]Kevin Elliott[/url]
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