Resource Search

The Tennessee Department of Agriculture (TDA) is advising forest landowners to monitor their sassafras trees after detecting new cases of laurel wilt disease in Robertson and Hamblen Counties. In the last quarter of 2019, the disease was detected in trees in Montgomery, Cheatham, Dickson and Williamson Counties. "These new detections of this invasive disease show a significant geographic jump across the state," State Forester David Arnold said. "This is yet another unfortunate example of an invasive pest impacting our forests. Landowners should take caution to prevent the spread of this disease if detected on their property."

Laurel wilt is a fungal disease caused by an invasive pathogen, Raffaelea lauricola, which can affect a range of plants, including sassafras and spicebush in Tennessee. Choked of water, trees wilt and die within a few weeks or months. Currently, no treatment has been developed that can cure laurel wilt disease or protect trees from infection. The best way to prevent the spread of laurel wilt is to avoid movement of firewood or other untreated timber. Tennesseans are urged to monitor their sassafras trees for browning of leaves, leaf loss, and staining in the inner bark. If you suspect your trees might have laurel wilt disease, contact Forest Health Program Specialist Sam Gildiner at 615-837-5439 or sam.gildiner@tn.gov. TDA Division of Forestry staff will assist in identifying the disease and recommending management actions, if appropriate.

Three Tennessee counties have been quarantined for Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) after detection of the forest-devastating insect, bringing the total number of Tennessee counties under a state and federal EAB quarantine to 62. Cheatham, Giles, and Maury counties have been added to the list of areas restricted for the movement of firewood, ash nursery stock, ash timber, and other material that can spread EAB. The tree-killing beetle was recently found in these three counties through the United States Department of Agriculture’s EAB detection program.

Note: In 2021, TDA repealed the existing Emerald Ash Borer, Pine Beetle, and Thousand Cankers Disease Quarantines. See current quarantine information.

Amendments to an international treaty aimed at preventing the spread of potentially invasive species in ships' ballast water entered into force on 13 October 2019. The International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships' Ballast Water and Sediments, 2004 (the BWM Convention) was adopted by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), a specialized agency of the United Nations, to address this problem. The BWM Convention entered into force in 2017. The amendments formalise an implementation schedule to ensure ships manage their ballast water to meet a specified standard ("D-2 standard") aimed at ensuring that viable organisms are not released into new sea areas, and make mandatory the Code for Approval of Ballast Water Management Systems, which sets out how ballast water management systems used to achieve the D-2 standard have to be assessed and approved. This will help ensure that aquatic organisms and pathogens are removed or rendered harmless before the ballast water is released into a new location – and avoid the spread of invasive species as well as potentially harmful pathogens.

Includes best management practices for landowners and resource managers, boats owners and lake managers, anglers, and gardeners.

See also: Roadside Development for more resources

ARS scientists at the Plum Island Animal Disease Center in Orient Point, NY, have made two important advancements against African swine fever virus, which causes a lethal disease in pigs.

After being disbanded in 2019, newly appointed members of the Invasive Species Advisory Committee (ISAC) gathered this week to discuss strategies to prevent, eradicate and control invasive species, which impose substantial costs on society and cause damages that impact the global economy, including an estimated $120 billion in environmental damages and losses annually in the United States.

See also: Ecological Risk Screening Summaries for more species summaries

See also: Ecological Risk Screening Summaries for more species summaries

See also: Swine - African Swine Fever for more information

Feral swine can carry foreign animal diseases like African Swine Fever. While ASF has never been found in domestic or feral swine in the United States, there is no treatment or vaccine for it. That’s why surveillance is very important. Help protect U.S. pigs by immediately reporting sick or dead feral swine.

WHAT TO DO: If you find a sick or dead feral swine with no obvious injury or cause of death, report it right away. Call the USDA-APHIS Wildlife Services program in your State at 1-866-4-USDA-WS. Don’t wait! Quick detection is essential to preventing the spread of ASF.

An interactive story map of the USDA’s effort to protect our pigs.
See related resource: Data Visualization Tools to explore plant and animal health management data and interactive story maps

Scientists with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service (ARS) announced that a vaccine candidate for African Swine Fever (ASF) passed an important safety test required for regulatory approval, moving the vaccine one step closer to commercial availability.