The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) will impose Minnesota’s first-ever gypsy moth quarantine in Cook and Lake counties starting April 30, 2014.
An invasive species brought to Massachusetts in 1869, gypsy moths have no natural enemies in the United States. The MDA has sprayed and trapped gypsy moths since 2006 in both counties, but the leaf eater’s population has steadily grown.
Last year more than 71,000 gypsy moths were trapped statewide, with more than 90 percent of that number coming from Lake and Cook County. That trapping tally led the state to conclude that its efforts to slow the spread of the moths was failing, so quarantine was proposed.
Gypsy moth larvae—caterpillars— are voracious leaf eaters. Stressed trees can die when defoliated and the caterpillars weaken healthy trees.
The quarantine will mean that loggers, sawmills and nurseries will have to sign compliance agreements with the state and inspect their products for gypsy moth larvae before shipping them out of the quarantine area. State inspectors will randomly inspect sites for compliance. Failure to comply may result in fines or penalties up to $7,500.
Despite two public meetings, one held in Cook County and one held in Lake County, where Department of Agriculture officials heard arguments against establishing a quarantine on the moths, the state decided to go ahead with its plan in a hope to slow the spread of the moths throughout the rest of the state and adjoining states.
Minnesota is now one of 20 states with a gypsy moth quarantine.
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