APHIS Expands Oriental Fruit Fly Quarantine in San Bernardino and Riverside Counties, California

FOR INFORMATION AND ACTION
DA-2023-25
November 20, 2023

 

Subject:           APHIS Expands Oriental Fruit Fly Quarantine in San Bernardino and Riverside Counties, California

To:                   State, Territory, and Tribal Agricultural Regulatory Officials

On October 12, 2023, and again on November 3, November 9, and November 17, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) expanded the Oriental fruit fly (Bactrocera dorsalis or OFF) quarantine in San Bernardino and Riverside Counties, California. This action is in response to the confirmed detections of additional adult flies from various trapping sites in Redlands, and the neighboring localities of Calimesa, Colton, Highland, Loma Linda, Mentone, Moreno Valley, San Bernardino, and Yucaipa, for a total of over 540 flies. All detections were from traps in residential areas. As a result of these detections, the Redlands area quarantine increased by 243 square miles to 355 square miles. There are approximately 2,000 acres of commercial agricultural production in the quarantine area.

APHIS and CDFA established the original OFF quarantine on September 27 following the confirmed detection of eight flies in the Redlands area between September 18 and September 23, and first expanded the quarantine on October 3. APHIS is applying safeguarding measures and restrictions on the interstate movement or entry into foreign trade of regulated articles from the area to prevent the spread of OFF to non-infested areas of the United States. APHIS is working with CDFA and the Agricultural Commissioners of San Bernardino and Riverside Counties to respond to these detections following program guidelines for survey, treatment, and regulatory actions.

The expansion of this quarantine area is reflected on the APHIS fruit fly website, which contains a description of all current federal fruit fly quarantine areas. APHIS will publish a notice of these changes in the Federal Register.

For additional information on the quarantine areas, please contact Fruit Fly National Policy Manager Richard Johnson at 301-851-2109 or richard.n.johnson@usda.gov.

 

/s/

Dr. Mark L Davidson
Deputy Administrator
Plant Protection and Quarantine