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Jacob Hegeman
State
Liaison, APHIS
Legislative
and Public Affiars
202-720-6794
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APHIS’ Wildlife Services (WS) program is participating in the on-going National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigation to help determine whether a bird strike forced U.S. Airways Flight 1549 to make an emergency landing in the Hudson River on Jan.15th. Miraculously, all 155 passengers and crew members aboard the plane survived the water landing without any serious injuries. Shortly after take off from New York’s LaGuardia Airport, the plane’s pilot reported a bird strike and engine failure. In addition to assisting with remains collection, WS is also providing background information on wildlife hazards at airports and helping to generate data reports from the Federal Aviation Administration National Wildlife Strike Database, which is managed by WS per an inter-agency agreement. Approximately, 82,000 wildlife-aircraft strikes have been documented since 1990. For almost two decades, WS has been a leader in wildlife strike research and prevention. In fiscal year 2007, WS personnel worked at more than 60 percent of the airports that provide commercial air service and assisted 714 airports and airbases in the United States. Prior to Flight 1549’s crash landing, WS and NTSB had been discussing the benefits of establishing a more formal relationship based on WS’ expertise with wildlife strikes. Those discussions proved to be extremely timely given the potential nature of this crash. For more information on WS’ aviation program, go to:
After the closure of all three U.S. horse slaughter plants in 2007, many concerns were raised about the fate of unwanted horses and the potential for them to be neglected or abandoned. Many also feared that unwanted horses would overwhelm the capacity of rescue organizations. To help provide more information about the unwanted horse population, APHIS has entered into a $100,000 cooperative agreement with the University of California, at Davis to study the issue. The study began last month and is expected to run through January 2010. The goal of the project is to characterize the type, history, ownership, and health status of unwanted horses entering animal control facilities, rescue/retirement facilities, and auction markets. UC Davis researchers plan to evaluate 300 to 500 horses over the next year. In order to get a representative sample, they will be reaching out to approximately 20 animal control/rescue organizations and several auction facilities spread out across the United States. In addition, the UC Davis project managers will be identifying factors that contribute to the success or failure in the transition of a horse from shelters and auction markets to private ownership. To obtain the necessary data, UC Davis is developing a survey that can be distributed to targeted establishments. The data will then be statistically analyzed. The results of the study will be reported in peer-reviewed scientific journals and disseminated to the equine community in lay journals, Web site factsheets and through additional outreach. APHIS does not have regulatory authority over horse slaughter facilities. The Agency does, however, have regulations in place to ensure the humane transport of horses to slaughter. These regulations require horse owners and shippers to take certain precautions during loading and transport. APHIS also requires that vehicles used for the commercial transportation of horses to slaughter meet specific requirements. Although no horse slaughter facilities are in operation in the United States, horses can still be transported to Canada or Mexico for slaughter. As long as those horses are in the United States, APHIS’ regulations must be followed. For more information on APHIS’ regulations regarding horses to slaughter, go to: http://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_health/animal_dis_spec/horses/horse_transport.shtml
The severe winter storms that swept through Central Massachusetts in December brought down trees, limbs and branches in an area where Federal, State and local officials have united to fight the invasive Asian longhorned beetle (ALB) and raised concerns about the spread of the invasive insect pest. With chances very high that some of the woody debris was infested with ALB larvae and pupae, it was imperative to keep storm-generated wood material from moving. APHIS, along with the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR), worked quickly to facilitate proper removal and destruction of infested woody debris, clear roadways of fallen tree limbs, and assist homeowners in recovery efforts. Woody debris from within the 64-square mile Massachusetts ALB regulated area was disposed of at two DCR-operated wood disposal facilities in the area with the assistance of APHIS. The hours of operation at one facility were expanded to accommodate the increase in incoming infested tree material for chipping. The first weekend after the ice storm, the ALB Cooperative Eradication Program had 12 Federal staff members from APHIS and USDA’s Forest Service out assessing the tree damage within the regulated area. It was clear more help was needed and the call went out to APHIS’ Plant Protection and Quarantine program for additional assistance. An influx of individuals arrived in Massachusetts on December 22nd, ready to work through the holiday season. They left Massachusetts on January 10th. A total of 23 people came to Massachusetts from around the country to work on the emergency debris removal. APHIS also facilitated the proper removal of ALB-infested trees by increasing the availability of compliance training classes. Training sessions were conducted twice a day for several days and brought over 180 tree and lawn care companies under compliance to work in the ALB regulated area in the days immediately following the ice storms. The ALB in central Massachusetts was first detected by a Worcester resident in August 2008. APHIS initiated an ALB Eradication program that same month. Removal of infested and high-risk host trees with homeowner approval began January 5th. For more information on the ALB, visit the APHIS ALB Web site at http://www.aphis.usda.gov/plant_health/plant_pest_info/asian_lhb/index.shtml.
During the months of December and January, APHIS’ Smuggling Interdiction and Trade Compliance (SITC) team conducted multiple warehouse, retail and restaurant inspections throughout New York City’s several Chinatowns as part of an operation to identify and intercept smuggled agricultural products that are often associated with the Lunar New Year For the last several years, SITC has conducted similar operations across the nation in anticipation of the Lunar New Year, which is an important holiday for many Asian cultures. During this time of year, there is a great demand for traditional Asian foods, many of which are highly regulated or prohibited from entering the United States.
At one restaurant, 88 kilograms of Chinese-origin duck tongues were confiscated. Because China has high pathogenic avian influenza (AI), raw poultry from that country is prohibited entry into the United States. At another location, 10,600 kilograms of arrowhead, a Federal noxious weed was identified. The bulb is eaten during the Lunar New Year and is thought to bring good luck, however, it can only be imported and moved under permit. While the operation netted some good seizures, it was a success for another reason as well. Compared with previous years, the SITC officers saw a significant decrease in the number of prohibited AI materials as well as a decrease in meat candies, fresh Chinese olives, and mooncakes—a few of the traditional foods associated with the New Year celebrations. “I would like to think that’s because we are having a positive influence on the community, and they are complying with USDA regulations as a result of our community outreach and inspection efforts,” said Erich Glasgow, SITC’s New York Metro Supervisor. Now that the inspections are over, the real work of the operation must begin. The New York SITC team must sift through the mountain of data they collected to determine who is responsible for importing the non-compliant products and how they were able to get into the United States in the first place. By shutting down these pathways, SITC works to prevent future illegal activity and protect American agriculture. For more information on APHIS’ SITC program, go to: http://www.aphis.usda.gov/international_safeguarding/sitc/index.shtml
APHIS Wildlife Services’ (WS) National Rabies Management Program, the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) and other cooperators, recently completed the aerial distribution of approximately 2.9 million oral rabies vaccination baits to immunize coyotes and gray foxes against rabies. The baits were distributed over portions of 41 counties in South and West Central Texas during a 2-week period in January. “Our goal in Texas is to prevent the spread of rabies to animals and people by creating a zone of vaccinated coyotes and gray foxes that stretches from West Central to South Texas,” said Dennis Slate, APHIS WS’ National Rabies Management Coordinator. “We’ve made great progress over the years through this State-Federal cooperative effort and we plan to continue to work toward the elimination of coyote and gray fox rabies in Texas.” Since the Texas ORV Program’s inception in 1995, the number of rabies cases reported has decreased dramatically. Canine rabies cases in South Texas have fallen from 142 in 1995 to 0 since 2005. Comparable in success is the decrease in gray fox rabies cases, which have dropped from 244 in 1995 to 11 through October 2008. Continued surveillance is a key component of WS’ rabies program. The oral rabies vaccination baits are composed of fishmeal for coyotes and dog-food with molasses and vanilla flavoring for gray foxes. Each bait is about the size of a matchbox and contains a sachet filled with the oral rabies vaccine. For more information, visit WS’ National Rabies Management Program Web site at http://www.aphis.usda.gov/wildlife_damage/oral_rabies/index.shtml
As part of the National Incident Management System, APHIS conducts responses to animal and plant health outbreaks through trained Incident Management Teams (IMT). IMTs are trained to respond to complex emergencies with a coordinated approach to the planning, operational and other issues inherent to these situations. Originally designed for emergencies like wildland fires, the IMT approach has been adapted to situations such as hurricanes and pest and disease outbreaks. While APHIS has 10 IMTs established for plant and animal emergencies, many States have programs of their own. One of the central components of an IMT is the Incident Command System (ICS). ICS is an on-the-ground command concept that allows people from various agencies and backgrounds to work effectively together in an emergency situation. To help provide coordination across State and Federal agencies, APHIS recently participated in a multi-State ICS training course in Oklahoma City. The S-420 Command and General Staff course was conducted by the Multi-State Partnership for Security in Agriculture to train State teams from Minnesota, Wisconsin, Oklahoma, Iowa and Kentucky. Veterinary Services' IMT 3, commanded by Dr. Ed Arza was invited to assist in delivering this training. At the training, IMT3 was partnered with a Type I IMT from the USDA Forest Service National Incident Management Organization to bring the agriculture perspective to incident response while the National Incident Management Organization (NIMO) team shared their decades worth of experience on wildfire incidents with these newly-formed State IMTs. The 420 training prepares students to function effectively in the position of a Type 2 Incident Commander (IC) or in a Type 2 command or general staff position. Central to this training is the simulation of the mobilization, management, and demobilization phases of an agricultural incident such as one managing an animal disease outbreak. State-level IMTs play a critical role in the "initial attack" of animal and plant incident responses during the dynamic period early in their detection when a regional or national outbreak might be avoided. For this reason, APHIS is committed to jointly training with States to receive higher level ICS training in the coming years. If you are interested in attending an ICS training course, please contact your regional APHIS counterpart.
APHIS’ Animal Care (AC) Program is responsible for a wide variety of animal welfare issues under the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) ranging from the regulation of zoos to commercial animal dealers. However, a less know area of AC regulation is that of marine mammals in captivity such as Cetaceans (whales and dolphins), Pinnipeds (seals and sea lions, including walrus), Manatees, Sea Otters and Polar bears. Much like other areas of AC regulation such as animal exhibitors or circuses, marine mammal displays are subject to the same exhibitor licensing requirements as their land-based counterparts. AC licensing is required if the exhibitor (public or private) obtains, sells, or trades animals in commerce and exhibits them for compensation. In addition to exhibitions, AC regulates interactive programs (such as “swim with the dolphins” programs), and research facilities. An AC license will be issued to one of the above mentioned facilities only if it can demonstrate compliance with all applicable AC standards. AC standards cover all aspects of captive marine mammal health and safety. These include facility and minimum space specifications, water quality, feeding, sanitation, and veterinary care, among other requirements. Standards are also provided that cover marine mammal transportation. Enforcement of AC marine mammal standards is carried out at the facilities of both prospective licensees and those with an existing license or registration. Facilities conducting research must be inspected at least once per year, while other facilities are inspected using a risk-based system. In total, AC employs 102 inspectors across all program areas. More information on AC’s activities is available in their FY 2007 Annual Report, available at:
This section provides information on upcoming APHIS activities, training opportunities and events that are open to States or especially for States. We currently have no upcoming events to report. If you would like to include a future event in this newsletter, please email Jake Hegeman at jacob.hegeman@aphis.usda.gov.
All Agency vacancies are posted on the APHIS Web site. To view the entire list of APHIS vacancies go to www.aphis.usda.gov. Under Related Topics click on Find a Job in APHIS. The positions highlighted below are for relevant positions that are at the GS-13 level and above. Position: Outreach and Communications Program Specialist Position: Risk Management Specialist Position: Risk Management Specialist Position: Supervisory Agriculturalist Position: Supervisory Research Biologist/Supervisory Research WL Biologist |
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