Letter to the Honorable Herb Kohl, Chairman of the Senate Agricultural Appropriations Subcommittee and Ranking Member Bennett

Letter

The full text of the Senators' letter to Chairman Kohl and Ranking Member Bennett is as follows:

Dear Chairman Kohl and Ranking Member Bennett,

As you move forward with the FY 2008 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations bills, we respectfully request that you include $48 million for the eradication by the Asian Longhorned beetle (ALB).

The ALB is a devastating pest of hardwood trees including maple, elm, willow, poplar, and birch. The ALB, first discovered in the New York City area in 1996 and subsequently in Illinois and New Jersey, is a local, regional, and national environmental threat. The ALB is active in nine counties in New York and New Jersey and has already destroyed over 8,400 trees. In the United States, 35% of all urban trees are at risk, at a combined replacement value of $669 billion. The need to increase resources to combat the ALB is paramount.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) program has been conducting programs to eradicate the ALB. The ALB has not been detected in Illinois since 2003 and while gains have been made in Illinois, the threat of the ALB in New York and New Jersey is severe. 47 percent of the 5.2 million trees in New York City are susceptible to the infestation of ALB with an estimated the replacement value of these trees at $2.2 billion. On the basis of forested areas, New Jersey could lose 25.4% of its tree cover or 250 million trees if the ALB is not eradicated.

An annual appropriation of $48 million will provide the resources needed for the eradication of ALB by 2014. Failure to provide the resources to eradicate the ALB will result in the extended duration of this eradication program and the loss of thousands of trees. A shorter duration of this program provides less opportunity for the ALB to spread naturally or through the movement of infested host material that would result in the need for additional resources.

We are pleased that our colleague, Senator Frank Lautenberg, who is a member of the Appropriations Committee, has also expressed his support for this funding and will work with the Appropriations Committee on this issue.

We thank you for the consideration of this request.

Sincerely,

Hillary Rodham Clinton
Charles Schumer
Robert Menendez

Source