APHIS Removes Portions of Nassau and Suffolk Counties, New York, from the Asian Longhorned Beetle (Anoplophora glabripennis) Quarantine Area

APHIS Removes Portions of Nassau and Suffolk Counties, New York, from the Asian Longhorned Beetle (Anoplophora glabripennis) Quarantine Area

FOR INFORMATION AND ACTION
DA-2024-02
January 31, 2024

Subject: APHIS Removes Portions of Nassau and Suffolk Counties, New York, from the Asian Longhorned Beetle (Anoplophora glabripennis) Quarantine Are;

To: State, Tribal, and Territory Agricultural Regulatory Officials>

Effective immediately, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is removing 10.1 square miles from the Asian longhorned beetle (ALB) quarantine area in Nassau and Suffolk Counties, New York. The areas include portions of the Townships of Babylon, Huntington, and Oyster Bay on Long Island. APHIS determined that these areas could be removed from the quarantine after the program completed final surveys of host trees. The remaining 42.9 square miles under quarantine in the Townships of Babylon, Huntington, and Oyster Bay will remain in the quarantine area. The attached Federal Order provides notification of the rescinded quarantine area. To contain the spread of ALB, all movement of regulated articles from the remaining quarantine area in Nassau and Suffolk Counties must be handled in accordance with 7 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) § 301.51et seq.

ALB is a destructive wood-boring pest that threatens 12 species of hardwood trees, including maple, in North America. ALB was first discovered in the United States in New York in August 1996. ALB was later detected in areas of Illinois (1998), New Jersey (2002, 2004), Massachusetts (2008, 2010), Ohio (2011), and South Carolina (2020). After the completion of control and regulatory activities and following confirmation surveys, APHIS declared ALB eradicated in Illinois (2008); Hudson County, New Jersey (2008); Islip, New York (2011); Union and Middlesex Counties, New Jersey (2013); Manhattan and Staten Island, New York (2013); Suffolk and Norfolk Counties, Massachusetts (2014); portions of Batavia, Monroe, and Stonelick Townships, Ohio (2018); Brooklyn and Queens, New York (2019); and portions of Batavia and Monroe Townships, Ohio (2022). Program activities continue in Worcester County, Massachusetts; Nassau and Suffolk Counties, New York; Clermont County, Ohio; and Charleston and Dorchester Counties, South Carolina.

The full lists designating the ALB quarantine areas and regulated articles are published on the APHIS ALB webpage. For more information regarding APHIS' ALB Eradication Program, please contact National Policy Manager, Kathryn Bronsky, at [email protected] or (301) 851-2147.

/s/

Dr. Mark L Davidson
Deputy Administrator
Plant Protection and Quarantine

Attachment: Federal Order