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antine of agricultural commodities, and the need to respond with urgency have not 

 produced long-term solutions to the problems posed by exotic pests. 



USDA needs to develop a coordinated, results oriented program that proactively 

 addresses pest exclusion. 



1) A more effective and proactive interdiction program. 



a) The USDA should keep, and publish annually, records of port-of-entry 

 interceptions. 



b) The USDA should analyze the port-of-entry records periodically to de- 

 termine the most common sources and routes of exotic pests and establish 

 off-shore programs, and education and suppression programs (if they can be 

 done effectively and safely) designed to mmimize imports of exotic pests. 



c) The USDA research and regulatory agencies should develop a list of 

 pests that threaten U.S. agriculture and hold the greatest probability of in- 

 advertent import. 



2) Eradication programs should be initiated only when there are clear goals, 

 specific criteria for success to be met, full cost accounting, and there is a plan 

 for termination of the program. 



a) These programs should be limited to 90 days from initiation at which 

 time an evaluation is done by a team of research scientists appointed by 

 the Secretary of Agriculture and the Administrator of EPA makes a deter- 

 mination of the program for: 

 i. success of eradication, 

 ii. nontarget impacts from the eradication, 



iii. full cost of program in funds, resources and other commitments, 

 iv. indicators for the need to transition to management strategies, 

 v. justification to continue the eradication program. 



3) There should be provided an automatic transition from an eradication pro- 

 gram into an IPM program so as to minimize environmental and public health 

 impacts from eradication programs. 



4) USDA must separate the regulatory decisions from the operational eradi- 

 cation/management programs. Regulatory programs (exclusion, detection, and 

 elimination of exotic pests of U.S. agriculture) and the short-term (less than 90 

 days) eradication programs currently are the responsibility of APHIS. The oper- 

 ational programs for combating exotic species tnat have entered this country 

 and have been present for more than 90 days should be governed by a special 

 exotics task force formed by the research agencies of USDA, the Forest Service, 

 the Agricultural Research Service, and the Cooperative States Research Service 

 in cooperation with the cooperating State Agricultural Experiment Stations. 



All operational programs, induding biological control, IPM, eradication, and 

 other applied research, methods and development, and "action" progranis should 

 be transferred to the most appropriate USDA or Department of Interior agen- 

 cies. 



5) A clear and specific regulatoiy policy in AF*HIS that facilitates the safe and 

 effective use of biological control. The policy should at a minimum do the follow- 

 ing- 



a) Provide clear procedures and guidelines for application permits to im- 

 port biological control agents. 



b) Provide a level of oversight that is consistent with the relative risk as- 

 sociated with the regulated classes of organisms. 



c) Provide a decision upon an application within 60 days. 



d) Establish a process that may be targets for biological control with a 

 system of arbitration among interested and concerned parties to minimize 

 legal delays. 



We hope this statement is helpful as the Committee reviews Federal policies re- 

 garding the prevention and control of alien species. 



PREPARED STATEMENT OF PETER VITOUSEK 



I write as one who was motivated to become a scientist in part by the effects of 

 non-indigenous species (NIS) that I saw growing up in Hawaii, and now as a biolo- 

 gist who has worked extensively on NIS and their consequences. The recent Office 

 of Technology Assessment report "Harmful Non-Indigenous Species in the United 

 States" did an excellent job of identifying the scope of the problem represented by 

 NIS— and the deficiencies in our legal framework for dealing with them, and the 

 lack of the seriousness with which we have tackled them in the past. The Senate 

 could make a fundamental contribution to the solution of this significant national 

 and global concern. 



