House Passes Sudden Oak Death Legislation

The House of Representatives approved legislation yesterday (H.R. 4569) that would direct the Secretary of Agriculture to develop a national plan to control and manage Sudden Oak Death. Rep. Mike Thompson (D-Napa Valley) worked with House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Bill Thomas (R-CA) and Rep. Max Burns (R-GA) to introduce the legislation. “Sudden Oak Death is not unique to California, it is prevalent in many regions of the country,” Thompson said. “Developing a national plan to combat the disease will help protect many oak species and prevent costly environmental problems such as erosion and forest fires.” The legislation calls on the Secretary of Agriculture to develop a national plan for the control and management of Sudden Oak Death. In developing the plan, the Secretary will be asked to compile information to identify hosts of the pathogen “Phytophthora ramorum,” to survey the extent of Sudden Oak death in the United States, to look at past and current efforts to understand the risk posed by the pathogen, and to include cost estimates for the implementation of efforts to control the disease. Sudden Oak Death has killed large numbers of tanoaks, coast live oaks and black oaks in California's coastal counties. Since its discovery in Mill Valley in 1995, the disease has spread from twelve coastal counties in California to southern Oregon and has infected other plants, including rhododendron and huckleberry. Rep. Thompson has secured $10.7 million to fight Sudden Oak Death and will continue to work with his Congressional colleagues to fight the spread of this disease. In the upcoming fiscal year, there is $13.6 million pending U.S. Senate approval. # # #