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State Representative Diane Loeffler
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-4219
For more information contact: Joan Nichols 651-29X-XXXX
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Loeffler Calls Veto of Forest Protection Efforts Short Sighted
State Rep. Diane Loeffler
Minnesota House of Representatives Contact: Joan Nichols
District 59A (651) 296-4219 (651) 296-8891
349 State Office Building, St. Paul, MN 55155 joan.nichols@house.mn
ST. PAUL – State Representative Diane Loeffler (DFL – Minneapolis), said the Governor's line-item veto of forest protection components of the Environment Budget stalls the development of a statewide public/private and local government partnership in detecting and responding to new and deadly tree pests. "This veto has put our trees and forests at greater risk and at the minimum impedes our ability to promote statewide early detection and appropriate response to Emerald Ash Borer (EAB)," Loeffler said. "Northern Minnesota has the highest concentration of ash trees in the nation and it is a dominant part of forests and urban tree cover statewide. Failure to detect it could cost us millions of dollars and trees, threaten our forest based industries and tourism, and change the look of many communities for a long time," she added.
"Having the veto occur just two weeks after Menards delivered truckloads of potentially infested firewood to 35 stores throughout Minnesota was surprising. We can only hope residents heard and acted on direction to immediately burn it," said Loeffler.
The vetoed provisions would have provided $75,000 to the Forest Resource Council to convene state agencies, forest industry representatives, nursery representatives, local governments and others to develop a comprehensive plan to assure that trees in all parts of the state have active monitoring for early detection and that there are agreed on roles and responsibilities in the event of an outbreak so that fast action can be taken. Another $75,000 would provide grants to cities, townships and counties statewide to respond to current pests and better prepare for potential outbreaks.
EAB is one of the most deadly tree pests in the United States. The USDA estimates that if EAB is not contained or eradicated, state and local governments are at risk of spending $7 billion over the next 25 years to remove and replace dead and dying ash trees. Millions of trees have been destroyed and over $350 million has already been spent in other states. "Responding to EAB is not like responding to Dutch Elm. Instead of just removing the diseased tree, the recommended control method is to clear cut all ash trees within a half mile. If we ever have to do that, there will be more than a small amount of pain and controversy." said Loeffler
"Preparing for and responding effectively to an epidemic requires a strong partnership beyond state and federal agencies. I hope the administration will be willing to continue to consider ways to facilitate that," said Loeffler. "It appears from the veto message that there was some misunderstanding that the grant program was statewide. Given the small amount of money and its potential benefit in protecting our valuable resources, I will continue to look for ways to move this statewide effort forward," said Loeffler.
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