Schumer: Dangerous Cuts to Invasive Species Funding Could Exacerbate Buffalo's New Emerald Ash Borer Problem, Putting Jobs at Risk - Calls for Continued Funding of Key Programs to Combat Looming Infestation

Press Release

House Proposal Cuts Funding For Key Programs Designed To Combat The Spread of Emerald Ash Borer In NY -- Pest Is Already Wreaking Havoc On New York's Ash Trees

Pest Poses Serious Threat To Industry Employing 50,000 Upstate New Yorkers, Erie County's 23 Million Ash Trees

Schumer: Unless We Fight Back, NY's Ash Trees & The Industries and Jobs They Support Could Vanish

Following the recent discovery that the emerald ash borer has made its way into Buffalo's ash trees, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today announced his opposition to proposed cuts for invasive species funding that could exacerbate Upstate New York's growing emerald ash borer (EAB) problem. As both the House and Senate move forward with budgets for the upcoming fiscal year, Schumer is urging the Senate Appropriations Committee to provide sufficient funds to fight invasive species in the face of proposed cuts in the House budget that would make fighting the emerald ash borer infestation much more difficult. The pest, which was first discovered in New York in 2009 and was discovered in Buffalo earlier this month, threatens the more than 23 million ash trees in Erie County and the timber and lumber business that they support. The House budget proposal slashes the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal Plant Health Inspection Service budget by $73 million, which includes a $37 million cut to the Plant Health program, and slices $354 million from agriculture research programs. Schumer believes that these cuts would obviously provide short term savings, but ultimately make little sense in the face of looming invasive species threats that could have a devastating economic effect on communities throughout upstate New York. In fact, the workers who discovered the Erie county infestation were trained in EAB management by APHIS funding. Forest-based manufacturing accounts for nearly 50,000 jobs in New York, and $1.5 billion in payrolls.

"The emerald ash borer may be small, but its potentially devastating impact on Erie County could be enormous," said Schumer. "With the bug continuing to spread across New York, now is not the time to cut programs that will help us manage these pests and preserve an industry that employs tens of thousands of people. Cutting this funding may provide some short term savings, but allowing the EAB to go unchecked will cost us jobs and put a damper on the Upstate economy in the long run. I'm going to fight hard for this funding going forward, and ensure that we're doing all we can to preserve an industry that is a key part of the economy in Erie County.

"We thank Senator Schumer for his leadership to recognize the need for public resources to help combat a growing threat to our industry, invasive pests," said Eric Carlson, Empire States Forest Products Association President and CEO. "Ash comprises nearly 17% of the hardwood forests in New York, the highest concentration here in western New York, providing millions of dollars in economic value and hundreds of jobs to loggers, sawmill workers, and other manufacturing jobs. Ash is an American Hardwood preferred by consumers globally, especially in expanding markets like Southeast Asia. In the past few years these markets have went from nearly non-existent to about 50% of the exported American Hardwood today. It's a species that has a rich tradition in this state where we make the instrument of our national pastime, baseball. What is baseball without the ash bats? The spread of this species may be inevitable, but having resources to help find and slow down the spread buys important time for us to capture value and find better solutions to combat these invasive pests. Other more sinister pests may come far worse than Emerald Ash Borer and we must be vigilant to help protect our forest industry. "

Standing at Crawford Furniture, which uses ash lumber in their products, Schumer today announced his push to preserve programs that will help New York fight back against the Emerald Ash Borer. Officials from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Forest Lawn Cemetery, Olmsted Parks Conservancy, Northeast Loggers Association, Empire State Forest Products Association, Cornell Cooperative Extension and Re-Tree WNY were also present.

The Emerald Ash Borer is a bright green beetle that kills trees by burrowing into their bark and destroying the trees' ability to bring water from the roots to upper branches. Trees infected with the pest usually begin to die within two to three years. EAB was first found in Cattaraugus County during 2009 -- all 39 infested trees were destroyed. The insect has been found in several other counties across the state, and experts fear it could sweep across the state and infect new areas by the end of the summer. Earlier this month, the bug was discovered in a group of 12 trees in Buffalo's South Park. Since the beetle was first discovered in North America in Michigan in 2002, the Emerald Ash Borer has devastated forests throughout the country and has the potential to decimate New York's ash tree population. More than 70 million ash trees in 13 Midwestern states and Pennsylvania, as well as many in southern Ontario in Canada have already been destroyed by this deadly pest.

The ecological and economic impact of EAB is a serious concern, especially to the hardwood industry. EAB defoliation can result in plant stress and possible death. Sawmills and lumber yard, plus companies that make products from ash trees harvested in New York, such as baseball bats, will be negatively impacted if EAB continues to spread throughout the state. According to the Empire State Forest Products Association, forest-based manufacturing employs over 49,000 people in New York, and generates payrolls of over $1.5 billion. In addition, ash trees account for over 10% of total wood manufacturing by volume in New York. Without drastic and immediate intervention, industries relying on New York for quality hardwood resources will suffer. In addition, EAB will kill trees and disturb the natural balance of New York's forests, which provide recreational opportunities to many, helping to foster tourism throughout the state. Although exact estimates are not known, experts say that the pest has caused tens of hundreds to potentially hundreds of millions of dollars of damage already.

Crawford Furniture has been in business for over 125 years, and has locations in Erie, Niagara and Chautauqua County. All of their manufacturing takes place in Chautauqua County, where 20.4 million trees are ash. Crawford Furniture uses black cherry, maple, oak and ash lumber to make its solid wood furniture, with ash accounting for 12% of their manufacturing. Crawford depends on wood of Western New York origin for their furniture, and preventing the spread of the EAB is critical to their business.

Shipments of Kiln dried ash lumber are conservatively valued at between $75-150 million annually, according to the Empire States Forest Products Association. Sawmills and lumber companies that process ash wood and are currently operating in quarantined areas have already begun to suffer, and similar impediments could be placed in front of other businesses if the EAB spreads and more counties are considered quarantined areas. Companies operating under quarantine are forced to grind all of their ash bark into tiny pieces and adhere to a number of other restrictions that have increased costs by up to $250,000 per sawmill, and forced some firms to cut back on the number of shifts for workers,

USDA's APHIS is the lead federal agency in charge of surveys and early detection efforts for the emerald ash borer and other invasive species like the Asian long-horned beetle across New York State. Due to the spread of both insects, nationwide demand for the program's support has increased, putting a strain on current funding levels. This strain, which would be worsened by the funding cuts, has resulted in fewer resources coming to New York state to help communities prepare for and respond to ash borer infestations, according to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. The Agriculture Resource Service in the USDA is deeply involved in work on biocontrols for the emerald ash borer, and is currently planning to test those controls across the state this summer. Specifically, USDA is testing the effectiveness of parasitic wasps that could combat the EAB, but the cuts included in the House budget proposal could jeopardize these tests and other research projects that would directly benefit New York.

APHIS is also helping to fund DEC's extensive awareness campaign, including a number of public messages and meetings to spread awareness of the dangers of moving firewood, which is a common method for spreading the EAB. DEC, with APHIS funding at its back, conducts dozens of public meetings, events, and training sessions every year for forest officials and campers alike, helping to raise awareness and prevent people from unknowingly aiding in the spread of EAB. Cornell's Cooperative Extension has utilized APHIS funding in its EAB program in order to reduce the impact of the pest through education, community preparation, early detection, and rapid response. Cornell has been instrumental in the fight against plant pests and disease like oak wilt and soybean rust but their ability to conduct research and respond to emerging threats in the future could be compromised if research dollars are cut.

The Department of Agriculture also provides response assistance to states through the U.S. Forest Service, which helps the NY DEC assess the extent of the EAB infestation, and helps communities develop forest management responses. Earlier this year, the Forest Service worked with the state DEC to survey the infestation in Ulster and Greene Counties, and continued funding is helping to plan control and response activities set to get underway this summer. USDA funding is absolutely essential to New York's efforts to combat and manage EAB, as it is the only federal source for management and forest restoration that is available to impacted communities and forest landowners.

According to the Western New York Partnership for Regional Invasive Species Management (PRISM), EAB is expected to cost $10.7 billion in treatment and removal costs in urban and residential areas in the US over the next 10 years. Without the proper funding, awareness or infrastructure, the EAB could have a devastating impact on the New York economy.

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