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Testimony: 

Before the Subcommittee on Forests and Forest Health, Committee on 
Resources, House of Representatives: 

United States Government Accountability Office: 

GAO: 

For Release on Delivery Expected at 4:00 p.m. EDT: 

Wednesday, June 21, 2006: 

Invasive Forest Pests: 

Recent Infestations and Continued Vulnerabilities at Ports of Entry 
Place U.S. Forests at Risk: 

Statement of Daniel Bertoni, Acting Director: Natural Resources and 
Environment: 

GAO-06-871T: 

GAO Highlights: 

Highlights of GAO-06-871T, a testimony before the Subcommittee on 
Forests and Forest Health, Committee on Resources, House of 
Representatives. 

Why GAO Did This Study: 

Invasive forest pests have seriously harmed our environment and imposed 
significant costs on our economy. The U.S. Department of Agriculture 
(USDA) is the lead agency for responding to forest pests and 
coordinates with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to prevent 
pests from entering the country. GAO issued two reports in 2006 on 
these programs. This testimony describes (1) the status of USDA’s 
efforts to eradicate the Asian longhorned beetle, emerald ash borer, 
and Phytophthora ramorum; (2) the factors affecting the success of 
those eradication efforts; and (3) areas of continued vulnerability in 
regard to preventing the arrival and spread of forest pests. 

What GAO Found: 

On the basis of the available evidence, it appears that the Asian 
longhorned beetle will be eradicated in the three states that have 
infestations, although funding reductions have extended the likely 
completion date. In contrast, the emerald ash borer and P. ramorum—the 
pathogen that causes Sudden Oak Death—are likely to continue to infest 
and damage forest ecosystems in the Midwest and on the West Coast, 
despite efforts to control them. 

The success of the federal responses to these infestations has been 
affected by several factors. First, the unique biological 
characteristics of each species greatly influences the ability to 
effectively control them. Second, quarantines have helped contain the 
spread of the pests, but implementing and enforcing quarantines has 
been difficult. Third, the only available method for eradicating these 
pests is to destroy infested trees and plants—a costly and sometimes 
impractical approach. Fourth, despite budgeting over $420 million to 
control these three pests, USDA program managers told GAO that funding 
has not been sufficient to fully implement their programs. We also 
found that USDA had not adequately prepared up-to-date management plans 
to provide decision makers and the public with current information on 
the extent of the infestation, eradication goals, and long-term funding 
needs. 

We identified areas of vulnerability that we believe increase the risk 
of future forest pest infestations. Specifically, we found that despite 
efforts to expand USDA’s forest health monitoring programs, they do not 
adequately provide for comprehensive monitoring in urban forests or 
other locations considered at high risk from pest invasions. Monitoring 
in such areas is important because they are common destination points 
for internationally traded cargo, which is a frequent pathway for 
pests. Improvements could help prevent situations such as those 
experienced with the Asian longhorned beetle, the emerald ash borer, 
and P. ramorum, in which years of delay in detection allowed them to 
become established before control programs began. In our report on port 
inspections, we found that DHS has not used a risk-based staffing model 
to assign newly hired agricultural specialists to ports of entry. As a 
result, DHS does not have assurance that staff are assigned to areas of 
greatest vulnerability. In addition, despite an interagency agreement 
intended to facilitate coordination between DHS and USDA, agricultural 
specialists are not consistently receiving notifications of changes to 
policies and urgent inspection alerts in a timely manner. We also 
reported that DHS has allowed the canine inspection program—dogs 
trained to locate items that might harbor pests—to deteriorate. Dozens 
of canine units are vacant, and the proficiency scores of the remaining 
canine units have declined. 

What GAO Recommends: 

GAO recommended in its report on forest pests that USDA (1) expand 
efforts to monitor forest health conditions in urban areas, 
particularly those deemed high risk for potential infestations; and (2) 
regularly update and publish management plans for pests that include 
status information and funding needs. GAO recommended in its report on 
port inspections that DHS and USDA (1) establish a process to identify 
and assess foreign pest risks and implement a staffing model to meet 
those risks, (2) improve the communication of pest alerts and other 
policies between agencies, and (3) improve the effectiveness of the 
canine inspection program. 

[Hyperlink, http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-06-871T]. 

To view the full product, including the scope and methodology, click on 
the link above. 

For more information, contact Daniel Bertoni at (202) 512-3841 or 
bertonid@gao.gov. 

[End of Section] 

Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee: 

I am pleased to be here today to discuss federal efforts to prevent the 
introduction of agricultural pests into the United States and to 
control and eradicate pests once they have entered. As you know, our 
public and private forests provide enormous value to the nation in the 
form of raw materials for building supplies and fuel, natural resources 
for wildlife habitat, air and water purification, and opportunities for 
recreation. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is responsible 
for protecting the health of the nation's forests from harmful pests. 
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and the Forest 
Service are USDA's lead agencies in this regard, and they often work 
with other federal, state, and local agencies to manage and eradicate 
invasive species infestations. In addition, USDA and the Department of 
Homeland Security (DHS) coordinate port inspection programs intended to 
prevent the entry of new agricultural pests, including those that 
threaten forest resources. 

Forest pests can have substantial impacts on our environment and 
economy, costing society billions of dollars in lost revenue and 
restoration expenses. When forest pests kill trees, they reduce the 
value of timberlands and residential property, harm businesses, 
increase the risk of wildfire, degrade ecosystems, and place upon 
homeowners and local governments the costly burden of removing dead 
trees before they become a safety hazard. Hundreds of nonnative 
invasive insect and pathogen species have already infested our nation's 
forests, resulting in huge losses of native tree species. Furthermore, 
because of the large number of visitors and enormous volume of foreign 
cargo that arrive in the United States every day, there is the 
potential that other pests may pass through our borders and cause 
further damage. 

My testimony today is based on two recent GAO reports. The first is a 
report we provided to the full committee in April on three serious 
forest pests--the Asian longhorned beetle; the emerald ash borer; and 
Phytophthora ramorum, the pathogen that causes Sudden Oak Death--and 
other matters relating to forest monitoring.[Footnote 1] The second is 
a May 2006 report provided to congressional requesters that reviewed 
the transfer of agricultural inspection activities at ports of entry 
from USDA to DHS and how this transfer has affected the inspection 
program.[Footnote 2] Drawing from those reports, my testimony will 
discuss: (1) the status of USDA's efforts to eradicate the Asian 
longhorned beetle, emerald ash borer, and P. ramorum; (2) the factors 
affecting the success of those eradication efforts; and (3) areas of 
continued vulnerability in regard to preventing the arrival and spread 
of forest pests. 

Summary: 

In summary, efforts to eradicate the Asian longhorned beetle appear 
likely to succeed, while efforts against the emerald ash borer and P. 
ramorum do not. The Asian longhorned beetle infests localized areas in 
Illinois, New Jersey, and New York, and program managers are optimistic 
that the pest can be eradicated from the United States. In contrast, 
the emerald ash borer and P. ramorum infest much more extensive areas-
-40,000 and 19,000 square miles in the Midwest and on the West Coast, 
respectively. Program managers do not believe these pests can be 
eradicated from the natural environment because of the size of the 
areas that are already infested and thus have set containment goals for 
the pest management programs. The impact of these two infestations 
could reach tens of billions of dollars in damages. 

The success of federal efforts to eradicate these pests has been 
affected by several factors. First, the unique biological 
characteristics of each species greatly influence the ability to 
effectively control them. For example, the Asian longhorned beetle is a 
large, conspicuous bug that does not fly far from the core infestation, 
while the other two species are more insidious and can spread more 
rapidly and over greater distances. Second, quarantines have helped 
contain the spread of the pests, but implementation and enforcement 
have been difficult. Each of these pests can be transported 
inadvertently by virtually anyone through activities as seemingly 
benign as moving firewood to a vacation home; educating the public 
about the quarantines and enforcing them are daunting tasks. Third, the 
only available method for eradicating these pests is to destroy 
infested trees and plants--an obviously costly and sometimes 
impractical approach when needed over large areas. Lastly--a problem 
faced by many government programs--according to program managers, 
funding has not been sufficient to fully implement the pest management 
programs. 

Although USDA has spent over $420 million to control these pests, a 
decline in recent funding levels will likely result in a longer time 
frame for eradicating the Asian longhorned beetle, and current funding 
may be inadequate to even contain the emerald ash borer and P. ramorum. 
With respect to program funding, we also found that USDA had not 
adequately prepared management plans that account for the extent of the 
current infestations, long-term funding needs, and the implications of 
known or anticipated funding levels on the schedule for control 
activities. We believe that better management plans would provide 
decision makers at the state and national levels with important 
information about the short-and long-term costs associated with pest 
management programs. Accordingly, we recommended that the Secretary of 
Agriculture routinely prepare and update pest management plans with 
such information. 

In our reports on forest pests and the coordination of agricultural 
inspections, we identified areas of vulnerability that we believe 
increase the risk of future forest pest infestations. With regard to 
the three forest pests we reviewed, we found that delays in detecting 
the presence of the pests in the United States allowed them to become 
established in the environment before control programs began. For 
example, while the Asian longhorned beetle was detected at several 
ports, no additional monitoring was done to determine whether the pest 
had entered the natural environment; had such monitoring been done, the 
pest might have been more easily and quickly eradicated, and the cost 
to do so may have been considerably less. USDA has taken steps in 
recent years to expand some of its forest monitoring programs. However, 
the programs still do not adequately cover urban areas and other 
locations at high risk of receiving infested cargo. To help detect 
forest pests, we recommended that the Secretary of Agriculture expand 
current efforts to monitor forest health conditions, particularly in 
urban areas that are at high risk of receiving invasive insects and 
diseases. While timely detection of potentially harmful pests in the 
environment is important, preventing their entry into the United States 
is the first line of defense. However, in our report on USDA and DHS 
coordination of port inspections, we identified several problems that 
raise questions about the ability of the agencies to effectively 
protect the United States against forest pests and other harmful 
organisms. First, we found that less than one-quarter of agricultural 
specialists conducting inspections routinely receive urgent alerts 
about potential agricultural threats in a timely manner. Second, we 
found that the agencies did not have staff assigned to ports and other 
inspection locations on the basis of an assessment of the potential 
vulnerability of those locations to the arrival of new, potentially 
harmful pests. Finally, DHS has allowed the number and proficiency of 
agricultural canine units--which are used to target passengers and 
cargo for agricultural inspections--to decline. We made several 
recommendations to USDA and DHS to address these and other deficiencies 
to strengthen the programs intended to prevent the entry of harmful 
agricultural pests into the country. 

Background: 

The impact of invasive species in the United States is widespread, and 
their consequences for the economy and the environment are 
profound.[Footnote 3] Invasive species are nonnative plants, animals, 
and microorganisms intentionally or unintentionally brought into a new 
environment. Once in that new location, these species may be able to 
crowd out native species, multiply at a rapid rate, and spread to other 
locations. These invaders can also affect people's livelihoods and pose 
a significant risk to industries such as agriculture, ranching, and 
fishing. The cost to control invasive species and the cost of the 
damages they inflict are estimated at billions of dollars annually. 

With respect to our nation's forests, the history of harmful invasive 
species is long. For example, starting in the early 1800s, American 
chestnut trees were devastated by a succession of two nonnative 
pathogens--ink disease and chestnut blight. Chestnut trees were a major 
component of the nation's deciduous forests, were valuable to wildlife, 
and had wide use as a source of lumber. Today, chestnut trees still 
survive in much of their former range, but only as sprouts from the old 
root systems. The gypsy moth is another serious invasive forest species 
that continues to harm our nation's forests more than 130 years after 
its accidental release by an amateur entomologist studying silkworms. 

Each of the three forest pests we reviewed in our April report likely 
entered our country in the last 20 years. The Asian longhorned beetle 
likely entered in the mid-1980s, currently infests areas in Illinois, 
New Jersey, and New York, and affects hardwood trees such as maple and 
elm. The emerald ash borer likely entered the United States in the 
early 1990s and infests about 40,000 square miles in Indiana, Michigan, 
Ohio, and some parts of Canada. A small infestation was confirmed just 
last week in Illinois. The borer affects all 16 species of North 
American ash trees. It is thought that the pathogen that causes Sudden 
Oak Death, P. ramorum, entered the country as early as the mid-1990s, 
although how it arrived is unknown. Of the three pests we reviewed, P. 
ramorum affects the widest range of species, including various species 
of oak and ornamental plants such as rhododendrons and camellias. The 
pathogen has affected more than 19,000 square miles in California and 
one county in southwestern Oregon. Together, according to USDA, these 
forest pests have the potential to cause the loss of trees valued at 
trillions of dollars. 

APHIS is the lead federal agency responsible for responding to insects 
and diseases that have entered the country and that might harm U.S. 
agriculture. APHIS conducts detection surveys, issues quarantines, 
directs eradication efforts such as removing infested trees or applying 
pesticides, develops control technologies, and performs public 
outreach. The Forest Service--which has federal responsibility for 
protecting the nation's forests--conducts surveys and research and 
undertakes reforestation of areas affected by pests. DHS plays a 
critical role in protecting agricultural interests--including the 
nation's forests--by coordinating activities with USDA designed to keep 
pests out of the country. DHS inspects ships, airplanes, vehicles, 
cargo, and passengers and their baggage for prohibited agricultural 
materials that may serve as carriers for pests and disease. USDA 
conducted agricultural inspections in the past, but the Homeland 
Security Act of 2002 transferred this function, among others, to 
DHS.[Footnote 4] Funding for pest management activities comes through 
annual appropriations and the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC), which 
is a government-owned entity that finances farm commodity, 
conservation, and trade programs and provides funding for agricultural- 
related emergencies.[Footnote 5] The Secretary may transfer funds from 
the CCC (or other available USDA appropriations) for the arrest, 
control, eradication, and prevention of the spread of a plant pest and 
related expenses. 

State agencies also play an important role in managing invasive 
species. For example, state agencies impose quarantines to prevent the 
movement of infested materials within their state and take actions to 
eradicate pests. Working with APHIS, state agencies also monitor for 
specific plant pests, including some that have already arrived in the 
country and others that have not but are believed to pose a threat. In 
addition, APHIS and the Forest Service enter into cooperative 
agreements with states to jointly carry out eradication programs and 
provide funding assistance for these programs. 

Eradicating the Asian Longhorned Beetle Appears Likely, While Success 
on the Emerald Ash Borer and P. ramorum Is Less Promising: 

Evidence suggests that the Asian longhorned beetle will be eradicated, 
while the emerald ash borer and P. ramorum are likely to continue to 
infest and damage forest ecosystems indefinitely, despite efforts to 
control them. 

* Asian longhorned beetle: Efforts to eradicate the Asian longhorned 
beetle appear likely to succeed in New Jersey, New York, and Illinois. 
Over 8,000 trees infested with the beetle have been removed, and over 
600,000 trees have been chemically treated to protect against beetle 
infestations. As a result of these and other actions, federal and state 
agencies have been able to reduce the size of the infested areas. 
APHIS's current goals for Illinois and New Jersey are to confirm 
eradication and end the management programs in 2008 and 2012, 
respectively. The current goal for declaring eradication in New York is 
2021. 

* Emerald ash borer: In contrast, we reported in April that it is 
unlikely that the emerald ash borer can be eradicated in the United 
States. Its small size, inconspicuous habits, and flight capabilities 
have aided the spread of the borer. In addition, human activities, such 
as moving infested firewood, have amplified the natural spread of the 
insect. Current management goals call for eradicating the borer in 
Indiana and Ohio and containing it in Michigan, which has the most 
extensive infestations. The pest has killed an estimated 15 million 
trees. USDA estimated that the cost of removing and replacing dead ash 
trees in urban and suburban areas could reach $7 billion over a 25-year 
period. 

* P. ramorum: Similar to the borer, it is unlikely that P. ramorum can 
be eradicated in the United States. Managing the pathogen is difficult 
given the size of the infestation and the many ways it can be spread-- 
through movement of plant material, soil on car tires, and possibly 
even fog. APHIS and state agencies have attempted to eradicate the 
pathogen from forests in only a few situations where the infestations 
were relatively small, such as in Curry County, Oregon. While seemingly 
impossible to eradicate from the natural environment, APHIS and state 
agencies are hoping to eradicate the pathogen from nurseries to reduce 
the risk that infected ornamental plants will spread the pathogen to 
other locations in the country. P. ramorum has killed tens of thousands 
of trees and led to the destruction of over 1 million nursery plants. 
These trees and plants were worth millions of dollars in ornamental, 
timber, wildlife, and environmental value. 

Many Factors Affect the Success of Eradication Efforts: 

The success of efforts to eradicate the Asian longhorned beetle, the 
emerald ash borer, and P. ramorum has been affected by factors relating 
to species biology, quarantines, detection and control technologies, 
and funding. 

Species Biology: 

Specific biological characteristics of each of the three pests greatly 
influence the potential success of eradication efforts. The Asian 
longhorned beetle is a large, conspicuous bug that does not fly far 
from the core infestation. As a result, it is fairly noticeable and 
does not spread quickly, making it easier to detect and control. 
Conversely, the emerald ash borer and P. ramorum are more insidious and 
can spread over greater distances and more rapidly, making control 
efforts more difficult. 

Quarantines: 

Officials involved with all three pests believe that the use of 
quarantines has helped to reduce the spread of the pests but we 
observed that implementing quarantines can be difficult. Quarantines 
help limit the spread of an invasive species by regulating the movement 
of potentially infested materials--such as firewood, nursery plants, 
and wood debris. However, the effectiveness of quarantines is limited 
by the prevailing knowledge about how the pest spreads and about the 
extent of its infestation. Since the Asian longhorned beetle 
infestations were relatively small, identifying the geographic 
boundaries for quarantines was fairly easy. In contrast, the boundaries 
for the quarantines for the borer were revised several times in 
response to information that indicated the infestations were much 
larger than originally thought. As a result of the incorrect quarantine 
boundaries, there was a greater risk that people would move infested 
material to unaffected locations. Similarly, the quarantines for P. 
ramorum had to be revised after learning that a nursery outside the 
quarantined area had become infested and had shipped plants to at least 
22 states. 

The success of quarantines can also depend heavily on effectively 
educating the public about the ways in which pests can be spread. For 
each of the three forest pest species we reviewed, certain normally 
harmless actions--such as moving firewood or tracking soil in hiking 
boots--can result in transporting the pests to new locations. Because 
nearly any individual can engage in such actions, including residents 
traveling to campgrounds or vacation homes and small firewood dealers, 
it is hard to define and reach target audiences with information about 
quarantines and enforcement efforts. Educating the public about 
activities that could spread the pests and then enforcing compliance 
with quarantines are thus daunting tasks. While stakeholders believe 
that outreach efforts by the three pest management programs have helped 
educate the public about the dangers of individual actions, all it 
takes is one piece of infested firewood or contaminated soil to start a 
potential infestation. 

Detection and Control Technologies: 

Successful control and eradication of the three forest pests we 
reviewed have been constrained by a lack of cost-effective tools for 
detecting and eliminating the pests. Detection methods for the three 
pests consist largely of visual observations, and in the case of P. 
ramorum, costly laboratory diagnostics. Such methods are not always 
effective and, given the size of the infestations, are resource 
intensive and time consuming. Research is ongoing into various 
technologies to develop better detection capabilities, such as chemical 
lures for the beetle and borer. 

Eradication methods are similarly limited.[Footnote 6] Currently, the 
only option is to destroy the infested tree or plant material as well 
as nearby trees and plants suspected of being infested, usually by 
cutting, chipping, or burning. This approach has been used to eradicate 
infestations of the Asian longhorned beetle. Although we refer to the 
beetle's infestations as "relatively small," over 8,000 infested trees 
have been removed. Such efforts, however, are not practical given the 
size of the infestations of emerald ash borer and P. ramorum. As a 
result, managers have used selective removal of trees infested with the 
emerald ash borer and P. ramorum to eradicate small outlying 
infestations. Trees are also being removed along the perimeter of large 
emerald ash borer infestations in hopes of containing them. The most 
extensive eradication efforts for P. ramorum are occurring in nurseries 
for plants that are infested or suspected of being infested; these are 
routinely destroyed according to quarantine regulations. Although 
removal of trees with emerald ash borer and P. ramorum has been 
selective, hundreds of thousands of infested or potentially infested 
trees have been destroyed. Unfortunately, there are no chemical or 
biological treatments available to effectively kill the pests on a 
broad scale, although research is ongoing to develop methods of killing 
these pests without requiring the removal and destruction of infested 
trees and plants. Preventive chemical treatments have been used 
extensively for the Asian longhorned beetle--over 600,000 trees have 
been treated--but only to a limited extent for the other two pests and 
primarily by home owners to protect valuable landscape trees. 

Funding Levels: 

The federal government has provided over $420 million for programs to 
control the three infestations we reviewed, primarily through the CCC 
fund and appropriations to APHIS's emerging plant pest program. States 
have also provided funding for management actions, although it has 
generally been less than the federal investment. However, program 
officials involved with managing the three pests told us either that 
funding has not been what was needed or that they are concerned about 
the prospects for maintaining existing efforts in light of funding 
constraints. Some management officials also noted that the 
unpredictable timing of funding, particularly the transfers from the 
CCC fund, hamper their ability to plan and implement control 
activities. 

Over the years, USDA has allocated about $249 million to control the 
Asian longhorned beetle, $112 million for the emerald ash borer, and 
$61 million for P. ramorum.[Footnote 7] For the beetle and borer, 
program managers told us that funding shortfalls will limit the control 
and eradication actions that can be taken. We reported in April that 
funding reductions for the beetle during fiscal years 2002 and 2003 
resulted in moving the target date for completing the eradication 
program from 2009 to 2014, but current funding levels placed that date 
in question. In June 2006, APHIS issued a revised strategic plan that 
projected a completion date in New York of 2021. For the emerald ash 
borer, state officials in Michigan and Ohio have announced that 
programs for removing trees in infested areas have been significantly 
reduced because of a lack of federal funding. Nearly all stakeholders 
we interviewed regarding P. ramorum raised concerns that funding has 
not been adequate to contain the pathogen. 

Related to funding concerns, we found that timely updates to pest 
management plans for the three species have not always been available 
to provide decision makers and the public with current information 
about how recent developments--including funding reductions--will 
affect the prospects for success of the containment and eradication of 
these pests. We recommended that the Secretary of Agriculture prepare, 
publish, and regularly update management plans for pests for which the 
department has initiated a management program. The plans and their 
updates should incorporate and describe changes in the extent of the 
infestations, progress to date in control and eradication efforts, and 
long-term funding needs. 

Other Areas of Continued Vulnerability in Regard to Preventing the 
Arrival and Spread of Pests: 

In our work on the three forest pests and, more broadly, the 
coordination between USDA and DHS on invasive species prevention 
activities, we found vulnerabilities that we believe should be 
addressed to reduce the risk that new forest pests will arrive and 
spread. These vulnerabilities involve USDA's overall forest health 
monitoring program and USDA's and DHS's management of port inspections. 

Monitoring of Urban and Other High-Risk Locations: 

Many forest pests, including at least two of the three we reviewed, 
were first introduced in urbanized environments. Urban areas are at 
high risk because they are common destinations for cargo and travelers 
that might be transporting pests. With the three pests we examined, as 
well as others, we have seen that delays in detection and 
identification allowed them to become established and spread before 
control efforts could begin. USDA has recognized the need to conduct 
more monitoring and has increased the level of resources devoted to 
monitoring for new forest pests. However, those efforts have been 
limited in scope, as illustrated by the following: 

* The Forest Service's bark beetle survey was started in 2001. The 
program has placed traps on a temporary basis at more than 300 high- 
risk sites around the country, including in urban forests. While this 
program has demonstrated that it can detect new pest species, we found 
that it does not comprehensively cover high-risk sites and that it 
focuses on a limited set of insect species. The Forest Service told us 
that the agency was considering expanding the program. 

* The Forest Service initiated a pilot project in several states to 
improve urban forest health monitoring in 1999. The project has two 
components. The first seeks to extend the agency's normal forest 
sampling program, which traditionally has not sufficiently sampled 
urban forests. The second component seeks to implement a roadside tree 
assessment using plots established within public rights-of-way in urban 
areas. To date, the agency has implemented pilot projects in Colorado, 
Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Tennessee, and Wisconsin. 
Since only seven states were covered by this pilot, systematic 
monitoring of urban areas is still not adequate. According to the 
director of the agency's Urban and Community Forestry Program, there is 
a strong case to be made for expanding monitoring to cover urban areas 
that are now classified as nonforest but that have trees and are at 
risk from such pests as the emerald ash borer. 

As a result of the limited nature of these and other USDA monitoring 
efforts, there are still many high-risk locations that are not 
adequately covered. To reduce these risks, we recommended that the 
Secretary of Agriculture expand current efforts to monitor forest 
health conditions, particularly in urban and suburban areas that are at 
high risk of receiving invasive insects and diseases. In response to 
this recommendation, USDA noted that other governmental and 
nongovernmental organizations have a role to play in combating invasive 
species, including monitoring. We agree that other entities have that 
role, but also believe that USDA has an important leadership role to 
play in developing and supporting the forest health monitoring 
capabilities of nonfederal entities. 

Port Inspections: 

The infestations of the three species we reviewed, as well as others, 
began when the pests passed through U.S. ports of entry, hitchhiking in 
vehicles, cargo, or travelers' personal belongings. That pests have 
become established indicates that the first line of defense at the 
border has been breached over the years. In May 2006, we reported that 
DHS and USDA face management and coordination problems that increase 
the vulnerability of the United States to foreign pests and disease. 
For example, we found that DHS has not developed or used a risk-based 
staffing model to ensure that adequate numbers of agricultural 
inspectors are staffed to ports and other areas of greatest 
vulnerability. In addition, despite an interagency agreement intended 
to facilitate coordination and communication between DHS and USDA, 
agricultural specialists are not consistently receiving notifications 
of changes to inspection policies and urgent inspection alerts. For 
example, we estimated that 20 percent of agricultural specialists do 
not regularly receive notices that policy manuals have been updated, 
and only 21 percent of agriculture specialists always receive urgent 
inspection alerts in a timely manner. These breakdowns in communication 
could hamper inspectors' ability to search for and detect new pest 
threats. We also found that DHS has allowed its canine detection 
program (dogs trained to sniff out items that may harbor pests) to 
deteriorate. The number and proficiency of canine teams has decreased 
substantially over the last several years. This limits the essential 
contributions these dogs can make to prevent the entry of prohibited 
agricultural items. 

We made several recommendations to address these deficiencies that we 
believe would help reduce the likelihood that new pests will enter the 
country. For example, we recommended that the agencies establish a 
process to identify and assess the major risks posed by foreign pests 
and disease, and develop and implement a national staffing model to 
ensure that staffing levels at each port are sufficient to meet those 
risks. We also recommended that USDA and DHS ensure that urgent 
inspection alerts and other information essential to safeguarding U.S. 
agriculture are more effectively shared between the departments and 
transmitted to DHS agriculture specialists in the ports. In addition, 
we recommended that the agencies improve the effectiveness of the 
canine program by reviewing policies and procedures regarding training 
and staffing of canines and ensure that these policies and procedures 
are followed in the port. USDA and DHS generally agreed with the 
report's recommendations and noted that various initiatives are either 
planned or underway to address them. 

Mr. Chairman, this concludes my prepared statement. I would be happy to 
answer any questions that you or other Members of the Committee may 
have. 

GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments: 

For further information about this testimony, please contact me at 
(202) 512-3841 or bertonid@gao.gov. Trish McClure, Ross Campbell, and 
Terry Horner made key contributions to this statement. 

FOOTNOTES 

[1] GAO, Invasive Forest Pests: Lessons Learned from Three Recent 
Infestations May Aid in Managing Future Efforts, GAO-06-353 
(Washington, D.C.: April 21, 2006). 

[2] GAO, Homeland Security: Management and Coordination Problems 
Increase the Vulnerability of U.S. Agriculture to Foreign Pests and 
Disease, GAO-06-644 (Washington, D.C.: May 19, 2006). 

[3] GAO, Invasive Species: Cooperation and Coordination Are Important 
for Effective Management of Invasive Weeds, GAO-05-185 (Washington, 
D.C.: Feb. 25, 2005); and Invasive Species: Clearer Focus and Greater 
Commitment Needed to Effectively Manage the Problem, GAO-03-1 
(Washington, D.C.: Oct. 22, 2002). 

[4] Pub. L. No. 107-296, 116 Stat. 2135 (2002). 

[5] The corporation has the authority to borrow up to $30 billion. The 
borrowed funds are repaid through periodic congressional 
appropriations. 

[6] By eradication, we mean the actual killing of pests that are 
infesting trees and plants. We recognize that there are other important 
components of a management program, including surveys, quarantines, 
preventive treatments, and public outreach, that may help reduce the 
spread of pests. 

[7] Funding for the Asian longhorned beetle program began in fiscal 
year 1997, for the P. ramorum program in fiscal year 2000, and for the 
emerald ash borer program in fiscal year 2002. 

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