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State Forestry Related Quarantines in Maine

There are five State forestry related quarantines in effect in Maine. They are:

1. European Larch Canker
2. Gypsy Moth
3. Hemlock Woolly Adelgid
4. Pine Shoot Beetle
5. White Pine Blister Rust

The following is a summary of the rules for each quarantine. Contact us with questions about the quarantines and requests for compliance agreements. Contact the Maine Department of Agriculture, Plant Industry Division for information about regulations on plant material other than forest products (such as wreaths, nursery stock, Christmas trees and seeds).

Federal quarantine laws, such as those prohibiting movement of material from Asian longhorned beetle and emerald ash borer quarantine areas regulate movement across state lines. These are administered by the United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Plant Protection and Quarantine (USDA APHIS PPQ). Forestry quarantines in Canada are overseen by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA).

News about Maine's Forestry Related Quarantines

1. European Larch Canker Quarantine

The European Larch Canker Federal Quarantine is listed under 7 CFR Part 301.91, United States Department of Agriculture, Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service, Plant Protection and Quarantine as printed in the Federal Register (Rule can be found here, under "Text of Federal Regulatory Rule". The State Gypsy Moth Quarantine is authorized under 7 MRSA, Chapter 409, Section 2301-2303 of the Laws of the State of Maine. The rule as it relates to forest products is summarized below (complete text).

1. This quarantines all parts of larch (Larix spp.) including logs, pulpwood, branches, twigs, etc., as regulated articles.
2. Also any other product, article, or means of conveyance whatsoever, when it has been determined by an inspector that it presents a risk of spread of the disease.
3. Designates parts of Hancock, Knox, Lincoln, Waldo, and Washington Counties as the quarantined area from which movement is restricted (map, European Larch Canker Quarantine Area in Maine--2010 List of Towns and Counties).

This quarantine is managed by the USDA-APHIS, PPQ in Hermon, Maine, phone: (207) 848-5199, and the Forest Health & Monitoring Division of the Maine Forest Service, phone: (207) 287-2431 or 287-2791.

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2. Gypsy Moth Quarantine

The Gypsy Moth Federal Quarantine is listed under 7 CFR Part 301.45, United States Department of Agriculture, Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service, Plant Protection and Quarantine as printed in the Federal Register (Rule can be found here, under "Federal Regulation"). The Gypsy Moth Quarantine is authorized under 7 MRSA, Chapter 409, Section 2301-2303 of the Laws of the State of Maine. The rule as it relates to forest products is summarized below (complete text).

This quarantine designates the infested area in Maine as quarantined for the movement of regulated articles, which includes wood such as logs, pulpwood, trees, shrubs, firewood, Christmas trees, and chips, and requires the inspection and certification of such material if movement is to non-infested states and foreign countries.

1. This is administered by the USDA-APHIS, PPQ in Hermon, Maine, phone: (207) 848-5199.

2. Inasmuch as Maine is not completely infested and quarantined, wood or regulated articles moving from the infested area of the state to the non-infested area must be accompanied by a certificate or go to a mill under state compliance agreement which allows the reception of such articles. Regulated articles moving from the non-infested area of the state to other non-infested states or non-infested parts of Canada must be accompanied by a state permit stating that the regulated article originated outside of the infested area of the state.

3. Quarantine Area

   • Gypsy Moth Quarantine Area in Maine—List of Towns and Counties
   • Maine: 11X17 Map (1 MB pdf)
   • Canada (off-site)
   • United States (off-site)

This quarantine is managed by the Forest Health & Monitoring Division of the Maine Forest Service, phone: (207) 287-2431 or 287-2791.

Summary for landowners harvesting forest products (adapted from Dec. 2009 Swoam Newsletter article)

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3. Hemlock Woolly Adelgid Quarantine

The Hemlock Woolly Adelgid Quarantine is authorized under 7 MRSA, Chapter 409, sec. 2301-2303 of the Laws of the State of Maine. The rule as it relates to forest products is summarized below (complete text).

This chapter establishes a quarantine against the Hemlock Woolly Adelgid to minimize its artificial spread in the State, in order to protect Maine's forest, timber and wildlife resources from this destructive pest.

A quarantine is established against the following pest and possible carriers.

A. Pest. Hemlock Woolly Adelgid (Adelges tsugae Annand).

B. Area Under Quarantine.

• In Maine, the York County towns of Eliot, Kittery, Ogunquit, South Berwick, Wells and York.
• In the eastern United States, the counties included in the USDA Forest Service's publication entitled "List of Counties and States with Known Hemlock Woolly Adelgid Infestations".
• In the western United States, the State of Alaska, the State of California, the State of Oregon and the State of Washington.

*PDF Files: National Map, Eastern US Map, List of Areas in the U.S.,*

C. Regulated articles. Hemlock seedlings and nursery stock, logs, lumber with bark, chips with bark, and uncomposted shipments of bark.

D. Restrictions. All regulated articles having originated or previously been held in an area under quarantine are prohibited entry into the State of Maine except as specifically allowed and conditioned below.

1. Hemlock seedlings and nursery stock originating from or having previously been held in an area under quarantine are prohibited entry into Maine.

2. Hemlock seedlings and nursery stock from non-quarantined areas shipped into Maine must be accompanied by a State Phytosanitary Certificate, or a Certificate of Origin, indicating the number and type of regulated articles, and attesting to the fact that the regulated articles:

a. originated from a non-quarantined area;

 

b. have not been held in an area under quarantine; and

 

c. have not been exposed to regulated articles from quarantined areas.

A copy of the State Phytosanitary Certificate or Certificate of Origin must be signed by a plant regulatory official in the originating state and upon issuance must be faxed to the Division of Plant Industry, at (207)287-7548 or such other fax number as the Division may from time to time publish. A copy must also be mailed to the Division of Plant Industry, 28 State House Station, Augusta, Maine 04333, within 3 days of issuance.

3. Hemlock seedlings and nursery stock which have been transported through an area under quarantine are prohibited entry into Maine except in accordance with the following conditions:

 

a. the vehicle transporting the regulated articles must be enclosed by a covering adequate to prevent the introduction of Hemlock Woolly Adelgid (such as canvas, plastic, or closely woven cloth), or must be in an enclosed trailer body;

b. the regulated articles were not off-loaded in the area under quarantine; and

c. no regulated articles were added to the shipment in the quarantined area.

4. Hemlock logs, lumber with bark, chips with bark, and uncomposted shipments of bark from quarantined and non-quarantined areas may be imported into Maine provided that said material is shipped only to sites within Maine that are preapproved by the Maine Forest Service, Department of Conservation. Such shipments must be made under a written agreement between the shipper and the Maine Forest Service. (Summary)

E. Violations.

1. Any written agreement to ship hemlock logs, lumber with bark, chips with bark, and uncomposted bark from quarantined and non-quarantined areas to preapproved sites in Maine may be canceled by the Maine Forest Service if the person who entered into it fails to comply with the provisions of this rule. If the person has been given notice of cancellation orally, written confirmation of the decision and the reasons for it will be provided within 10 working days. Written agreements may be reinstated by the Maine Forest Service if it finds that the reason(s) for cancellation has (have) been rectified.

2. Any person found to violate any provision of this quarantine is guilty of a Class E crime.

EFFECTIVE DATE: January 10, 2001 Amended August 5, 2007

Questions about Hemlock Forest Products? Contact Allison Kanoti at (207) 287-2431

Questions about Hemlock Nursery Stock or Seedlings? Contact Ann Gibbs at (207) 287-3891

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4. Pine Shoot Beetle Quarantine

The Pine Shoot Beetle Federal Quarantine is listed under 7 CFR Part 301.5, United States Department of Agriculture, Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service, Plant Protection and Quarantine as printed in the Federal Register (Rule can be found here, under "Federal Regulation"). The Pine Shoot Beetle State Quarantine is authorized under 7 MRSA, Chapter 409, Section 2301-2303 of the Laws of the State of MaineThe rule as it relates to forest products is summarized below (complete text).

This quarantine:

1. Designates infested and regulated areas in the United States of America including the following areas in Maine: all counties except Aroostook and Washington counties.
2. Regulates movement of pine products with bark
   1. Across state lines (managed by APHIS PPQ in Hermon, Maine, phone (207)-848-5199) (map, under Quarantine Map ) and
   2. Between regulated and unregulated areas within Maine (managed by Forest Health and Monitoring Division of the Maine Forest Service, phone (207) 287-2431) (map)
3. Requires concerns outside the regulated area receiving pine products with bark from within the regulated area to have written compliance agreements.

Regulations restricting movement of regulated pine products with bark are complex and vary depending on the kind of product and the season of the year. Concerns and individuals engaged in receiving pine with bark or pine bark products should refer to the detailed regulations or call (207) 287-2431 for assistance.

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5. White Pine Blister Rust Quarantine

The White Pine Blister Rust Regulations and Quarantine are listed under Title 12 MRSA 1988, Subchapter III, ¤803:8305 Shipment Prohibited.

The director may prohibit, prevent or regulate the entry into or movement within the State, from any part thereof to any other part, of any plants of the genus Ribes or other nursery or wildling plants, stock or parts of plants which may cause the introduction or spread of a dangerous forest insect or disease. The director may issue the necessary orders, permits and notices necessary to carry out this section which shall not be considered to require or constitute an adjudicatory proceeding under the Maine Administrative Procedure Act, Title 5, Chapter 375.

Regulation: White Pine Blister Rust, Quarantine on Currants and Gooseberry Bushes. (rule)

1. The sale, transportation, further planting or possession of plants of the genus Ribes (commonly) known as currant and gooseberry plants, including cultivated, wild, or ornamental sorts is prohibited in the following Counties in the State of Maine, to wit: York, Cumberland, Androscoggin, Kennebec, Sagadahoc, Lincoln, Knox, Waldo, Hancock, and parts of Oxford, Franklin, Somerset, Piscataquis, Penobscot, Aroostook, and Washington (map, list of towns ).
   
2. The planting or possession of European Black Currant, Ribes nigrum, or its varieties or hybrids anywhere within the boundaries of the State of Maine is prohibited.

This quarantine is administered by the Forest Health & Monitoring Division of the Maine Forest Service, phone: (207) 287-2431 or 287-2791.

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MFS April 8, 2010

GO to Forest Health & Monitoring Division home page.
GO to Maine Forest Service home page.
GO to DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION home page.