Florida agencies continue resolute fight against canker disease
Florida agencies continue resolute fight against canker disease
On April 6, the Ft. Pierce (FL) Tribune published a guest column about the state's Citrus Canker Eradication Program. In it, Jack Haire, a Broward County resident who was a participant in the original anti-canker eradication lawsuits that delayed the process for several years, made some statements that officials from the Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services adamantly state are untrue.
Among them, he disputed the scientific research, which supports the 1,900-foot law. The law requires that all citrus trees within a 1,900-foot area of an infected tree be removed and destroyed in an attempt to prevent the disease from spreading.
On April 19, the Tribune printed a response to Mr. Haires letter from Liz Compton, a spokesperson for the department. In it, Ms. Compton said that the department, using the best-known science available, launched the eradication program in late 1995.
"At that time, the program was removing infected citrus trees and exposed trees located within 125 feet, attempting to impact as few citizens as possible," wrote Ms. Compton. However, as the disease progressed, it became clear the effort was not going to result in eradication. Scientific research conducted in southeast Florida over a yearlong period determined that a 1,900-foot cutting zone was necessary for eradication.
The eradication program was less than eight weeks away from completion and had approximately 80,000 trees left to be removed when the Broward County groups litigation placed severe limits on the effort. Ms. Compton said that the result has been the spread of this serious disease to numerous other counties, as well as increasing the number of citrus trees to be removed in southeastern Florida by the tens of thousands.
While many citizens certainly did not relish the loss of their citrus trees, they understood the need for the eradication program and cooperated, wrote Ms. Compton. A handful of vociferous residents spearheaded the legal action, which resulted in the destruction of their neighbors trees. Canker had also been discovered in several other counties, but DNA testing indicated all but one outbreak was linked to replanted citrus trees brought in from southeast Florida. These data have been peer-reviewed by plant pathologists and published in leading scientific journals. There is nothing secret about the information.
The Pandoras box that opened when canker was first discovered in the mid-1990s now webs off into numerous directions. One of those leads to the legal action that continues today regarding the amount of compensation homeowners should receive when trees on their property are cut down and destroyed in the eradication process and if that compensation applies to both infected trees and those not infected but within the 1,900-food area.
FDACS Commissioner Charles Bronson said that he is pleased with a recent Florida Supreme Court ruling on the compensation case. The case, which has been before the justices for more than two years, leaves intact the courts previous opinion, which upheld the constitutionality of the citrus canker eradication program. The high court ruling also upholds the section that provides compensation to eligible homeowners. It pointed out that the 2002 statute clearly intends that the petitioners be included within the homeowners covered by section 581.1845 (2). The plaintiff in this particular case, the courts decision ruled, is eligible for a $100 Shade Florida voucher for the first citrus tree removed and $55 cash payment for every subsequent tree removed from the property.
Commissioner Bronson said that the ruling overturned a decision from the Third District Court of Appeals indicating that residential citrus trees within 1,900 feet of infected ones were not due compensation. It also sends the case back to a trial court for further proceedings.
The department has a constitutional duty to eliminate plant pests and diseases from Florida, Commissioner Bronson said. Legal delays and hurricanes have resulted in the spread of this terrible disease, and we must focus our efforts on eradication. The courts are the proper venue for any additional interpretation of this ruling.
The eradication process was well underway with an end in sight when four hurricanes swept through the state in August and September last year. Related winds and rain caused canker to spread quickly and widely throughout the state. Liz Compton said that it was a setback, but the eradication process is back in full swing today.
Currently, and attributed directly to hurricane winds and rain, there have been 14 new commercial canker finds in the state, said Ms. Compton. Also directly attributed to the storms, an additional 1.5 million commercial trees on 11,989 acres of grove land will be destroyed.
Ms. Compton said that a total of approximately 3.7 million commercial trees have been cut down and destroyed so far in the eradication process. The number of residential trees destroyed current totals approximately 748,000.
Baring no further delays or outbreaks, we feel we could be finished with the eradication process in commercial acreage by the middle to end of May, said Ms. Compton. Adding the three counties in south Florida where legal issues caused eradication delays, we expect the residential eradication process to be completed in about a year.
Among them, he disputed the scientific research, which supports the 1,900-foot law. The law requires that all citrus trees within a 1,900-foot area of an infected tree be removed and destroyed in an attempt to prevent the disease from spreading.
On April 19, the Tribune printed a response to Mr. Haires letter from Liz Compton, a spokesperson for the department. In it, Ms. Compton said that the department, using the best-known science available, launched the eradication program in late 1995.
"At that time, the program was removing infected citrus trees and exposed trees located within 125 feet, attempting to impact as few citizens as possible," wrote Ms. Compton. However, as the disease progressed, it became clear the effort was not going to result in eradication. Scientific research conducted in southeast Florida over a yearlong period determined that a 1,900-foot cutting zone was necessary for eradication.
The eradication program was less than eight weeks away from completion and had approximately 80,000 trees left to be removed when the Broward County groups litigation placed severe limits on the effort. Ms. Compton said that the result has been the spread of this serious disease to numerous other counties, as well as increasing the number of citrus trees to be removed in southeastern Florida by the tens of thousands.
While many citizens certainly did not relish the loss of their citrus trees, they understood the need for the eradication program and cooperated, wrote Ms. Compton. A handful of vociferous residents spearheaded the legal action, which resulted in the destruction of their neighbors trees. Canker had also been discovered in several other counties, but DNA testing indicated all but one outbreak was linked to replanted citrus trees brought in from southeast Florida. These data have been peer-reviewed by plant pathologists and published in leading scientific journals. There is nothing secret about the information.
The Pandoras box that opened when canker was first discovered in the mid-1990s now webs off into numerous directions. One of those leads to the legal action that continues today regarding the amount of compensation homeowners should receive when trees on their property are cut down and destroyed in the eradication process and if that compensation applies to both infected trees and those not infected but within the 1,900-food area.
FDACS Commissioner Charles Bronson said that he is pleased with a recent Florida Supreme Court ruling on the compensation case. The case, which has been before the justices for more than two years, leaves intact the courts previous opinion, which upheld the constitutionality of the citrus canker eradication program. The high court ruling also upholds the section that provides compensation to eligible homeowners. It pointed out that the 2002 statute clearly intends that the petitioners be included within the homeowners covered by section 581.1845 (2). The plaintiff in this particular case, the courts decision ruled, is eligible for a $100 Shade Florida voucher for the first citrus tree removed and $55 cash payment for every subsequent tree removed from the property.
Commissioner Bronson said that the ruling overturned a decision from the Third District Court of Appeals indicating that residential citrus trees within 1,900 feet of infected ones were not due compensation. It also sends the case back to a trial court for further proceedings.
The department has a constitutional duty to eliminate plant pests and diseases from Florida, Commissioner Bronson said. Legal delays and hurricanes have resulted in the spread of this terrible disease, and we must focus our efforts on eradication. The courts are the proper venue for any additional interpretation of this ruling.
The eradication process was well underway with an end in sight when four hurricanes swept through the state in August and September last year. Related winds and rain caused canker to spread quickly and widely throughout the state. Liz Compton said that it was a setback, but the eradication process is back in full swing today.
Currently, and attributed directly to hurricane winds and rain, there have been 14 new commercial canker finds in the state, said Ms. Compton. Also directly attributed to the storms, an additional 1.5 million commercial trees on 11,989 acres of grove land will be destroyed.
Ms. Compton said that a total of approximately 3.7 million commercial trees have been cut down and destroyed so far in the eradication process. The number of residential trees destroyed current totals approximately 748,000.
Baring no further delays or outbreaks, we feel we could be finished with the eradication process in commercial acreage by the middle to end of May, said Ms. Compton. Adding the three counties in south Florida where legal issues caused eradication delays, we expect the residential eradication process to be completed in about a year.
