[MAIPC] Administration proposes damaging cuts to CURRENT year funds

[Phytodoer at aol.com]

Dear forest pest mavens,
 
a document circulating here indicates that the Trump Administration  
proposes to cut funds for the current FY17) year.
 
The Administration proposes to cut $50 million from appropriations to APHIS 
 for a combination of 3 programs: "tree & wood pests", "specialty crops", 
and  wildlife services. Since the Fiscal Year is half over, these cuts would 
be  deeper even than this indicates.  
 
This proposed cut is most alarming.  "Tree & wood pests" is  currently 
funded at ~$54 million; APHIS spends all of that on just 3 tree  pests - Asian 
longhorned beetle, emerald ash borer, & gypsy moth. The  "specialty crops" 
program is funded at $156 million; $3-4 million of that goes  to sudden oak 
death. So, already, APHIS has funding to deal with only 4 of the  dozens of 
non-native insects & pathogens killing urban, rural, and  wildland trees. 
 
OMB has sought for more than a decade to shift response costs to the states 
 - despite the legal responsibility for preventing pest introductions lying 
with  the federal government (APHIS). In practice, relying on the states 
will  mean piecemeal programs  - some states will fund aggressive programs, 
most  will not.  This will undermine efficacy since these pests threaten trees 
 across wide swaths of the country, not just individual states.
 
It is somewhat unclear, but APHIS might be negotiating with the  states now 
about which ones will accept how much of the responsibility for which  
pests.  ... clearly any negotiations are shadowed by the abrupt  cut-off sword 
hanging over the process.
 
The proposals do not appear to cut funding for USFS State & Private  
Forestry/Forest Health Protection or Research; it would cut funds for forest  
landscape restoration projects and the urban forestry program.
 
Contact your members of Congress and senators and urge them to oppose this  
proposal when the bill to fund government activities for the 2nd half of 
the  fiscal year comes to a vote.  (The current continuing resolution expires 
at  the end of April, so the bills should be before Congress soon.)
 
Faith
 
 

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