MI Dept. of Agriculture & Rural Development Seeks Comments on Proposed Revision to Thousand Cankers Disease of Walnut Quarantine
Media contact: Jennifer Holton, 517-284-5724 Program contact: Mike Bryan, 517-284-5648
LANSING – The Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development announced today it is seeking public comment on a proposed revision of the Thousand Cankers Disease of Walnut (TCD) Quarantine. This disease has caused significant tree death elsewhere in North America. The TCD Quarantine generally prohibits the shipment of walnut nursery stock, certain walnut timber products and hardwood firewood into Michigan from infested states. Walnut furniture, veneer, kiln dried walnut lumber without bark and walnut nuts and nutmeats are exempt.
“If Thousand Cankers Disease were to become widespread in Michigan it could cause significant losses to the state’s walnut timber and nut producing industries. This quarantine keeps the disease and the walnut twig beetle that carries the disease from entering the state,” said Gina Alessandri, MDARD’s Pesticide and Plant Pest Management Division Director. “Michigan forests contain over 8 million black walnut trees. MDARD is working to prevent loss of those walnut resources. Black walnut trees are a vital source of lumber and veneer used in the wood products industries, and makes some of the finest quality timber products in the world.”
The revised quarantine would supersede Michigan’s TCD Quarantine that was implemented in 2010. The proposed revised quarantine reflects new information on where the disease has been found in North America. TCD is known to occur in Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Maryland, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia and Washington. The revised quarantine includes an updated list of regulated areas and a new treatment provision for walnut timber products with bark attached, including hardwood firewood, when those products originate from infested states
A draft of the proposed revised Thousand Cankers Disease of Walnut Quarantine is available at www.michigan.gov/pestquarantines
MDARD has opened a comment period of 45 days to allow the public an opportunity to provide input on the proposed revision to the Thousand Cankers Disease of Walnut Quarantine. All comments must be received by MDARD no later than 5:00 p.m. on Friday, October 20, 2017. Comments may be sent electronically to bryanm@michigan.gov or submitted in hard copy to the address below:
Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Pesticide and Plant Pest Management Division P.O. Box 30017 Lansing, MI 48909
Additional information about the Thousand Cankers Disease of Walnut quarantine is available at www.michigan.gov/pestquarantines
For more information on TCD visit the following websites: (MDARD) http://michigan.gov/exoticpests, (MDNR) www.michigan.gov/invasivespecies or the Thousand Cankers Disease website at http://thousandcankers.com/
For more information on the proposed revised quarantine, contact Mike Bryan, Plant Industry Specialist, at 517-284-5648.
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