01/27/05 Sudden Oak Death federal order

The federal government is becoming more involved in efforts to curb, if not prevent, a fungal disease that has plagued nursery operations in Washington, Oregon, and California in recent years, and especially over the past year. The scientific name is Phytophthora ramorum. But it has become recognized for its common name, Sudden Oak Death syndrome. JONES: It's a fungal like organism commonly in a group called water molds. It's related to the late blight of potato that caused the Irish potato famine back in the 1800's. And according to Jonathan Jones, the Program Manager for U.S.D.A.'s efforts to combat Sudden Oak Death syndrome, the name says it all in describing the fungus-like organism. It invades susceptible trees through the bark, killing portions of the tree, and creating an ideal environment for insects and other fungi to invade. And while Sudden Oak Death was first diagnosed in 1995 in California oak trees, the federal government did not formally step in until last year, when potentially infected nursery plants from California, Oregon, and Washington State were shipped to thirty nine other states JONES: This raised the level of awareness. Raised the level of concern. It's disrupted trade in these states. And it's is a very complex organism, very complex program. Understanding the risk is not something that can be done easily or quickly. That's because there is little information on the cause, location, and prevention of Sudden Oak Death. And that has led to the new rules implemented earlier this month by U.S.D.A. to prevent the spread of the organism. Under the new measures, West Coast nurseries must at least be inspected before shipping plants. And there will be tighter scrutiny for nurseries that grow known host plants for Sudden Oak Death syndrome, like rhododendrons and azaleas. JONES: Those nurseries have to be inspected, sampled, and tested and found free of perimorum. If it is a nursery that only deals with non-hosts, plants that aren't on our list, then those nurseries have to be visual inspected and found free of visual symptoms of the disease before they can ship. The hope is the tighter shipment regulations combined with U.S.D.A.'s $15 million dollar program to prevent the spread of Sudden Oak Death syndrome and a national survey to determine if other parts of the country have the disease, with keep Sudden Oak Death in check.