Efforts to quarantine spotted lanternflies in Virginia have been deemed ineffective.
The state’s Department of Agriculture repealed the quarantine last month after efforts to slow the pest failed. The quarantine was established back in 2019 when the pest was first detected in Frederick County.
Sixty-seven Virginia localities now face the pest which feeds on grapes, hops, stone fruits, and hardwood trees.
Spotted lanternflies have also been found in Pennsylvania, Maryland, New York, and Connecticut.
Related Stories
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) appointed Dr. Jaye L. Hamby as the new Director of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA).
“Our organization was the only one that publicly came out and said, ‘We support these wholeheartedly.’”
“All our bill would do is go back to the way things were for decades prior to the Obama-era regulation...”