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Cooperation with APHIS 



The risk of new pest introductions as a result of unprocessed log 

 imports is of serious concern to APHIS and the Forest Service. In 

 response to this threat, the agencies have a memorandum of 

 understanding to clarify the roles of the two agencies. APHIS is 

 responsible for regulating the entry of plant and animal material into 

 the United States. The Forest Service is responsible for protecting 

 native forests from adverse effects of insects and diseases and is a 

 source of research knowledge on the risk of introduced forest pests. 



Pest Risk Assessments 



The Forest Service has cooperated with APHIS to establish a rigorous 

 process for conducting science-based assessments of pest risks 

 associated with importation of logs and similar unmanufactured wood 

 products. When there is a request to import logs and other 

 unmanufactured wood products, APHIS notifies the Forest Service to 

 conduct scientific panel reviews of these importation proposals. 



We have produced forest pest risk assessments for the importation of 

 larch logs from Siberia; Monterey pine and Douglas- fir from New 

 Zealand; and Monterey pine and native hardwoods from Chile. These 

 risk assessments span a range of situations and provide most of the 

 scientific bases for the new regulations. 



