Media Advisory: USDA and MDA Officials to Set Traps for Invasive Plant, Pest and Disease Month

ANNAPOLIS, MD (April 06, 2011) – Maryland Agriculture Secretary Buddy Hance and U.S. Department of Agriculture Deputy Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs Rebecca Blue will stress the importance of stopping invasive plants and pests by hanging one of the first survey traps of the season in the trees of Patuxent Wetlands Park (Anne Arundel County). Traps are used to identify and track invasive pests and help officials develop possible eradication or other mitigation measures.

USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has designated April “Invasive Plant, Pest and Disease Awareness Month” to enlist public support for preventing the spread of a growing number of invasive pests that are feeding on America’s agricultural crops, trees and other plants. These pests have cost the U.S. billions of dollars, wreaked havoc on the environment and can impact public health.

In Maryland, the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB), a small invasive beetle, has killed thousands of ash trees across the state. A quarantine is in effect for the 14 counties west of the Chesapeake Bay and Susquehanna River, making it illegal to transport firewood to the Eastern Shore where the EAB has not yet been discovered. USDA estimates that there are between 5.9 and 6.5 million ash trees in the Baltimore metro area alone. Those losses could exceed $227.5 million if the EAB goes unchecked.

What: USDA Deputy Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs Rebecca Blue, Maryland Agriculture Secretary Buddy Hance, and Deputy Secretary Mary Ellen Setting will place a purple EAB survey trap and discuss the invasive pest with the media in recognition of “Invasive Plant Pest and Disease Awareness Month.”

When/ Where: Tuesday, April 10, from 11 a.m. to noon at Patuxent Wetlands Park on Mt. Zion Marlboro Road in Waysons Corner, just off of MD Rt. 4 (Anne Arundel County)

Note:  If TV stations are interested in a live shot for the noon broadcast, please let us know ASAP so we can ensure the officials’ schedule remains clear for the duration