APHIS Expands the Citrus Greening (Huanglongbing) Quarantined Area in California

FOR INFORMATION AND ACTION
DA-2025‑17
May 29, 2025

 

Subject:     APHIS Expands the Citrus Greening (Huanglongbing) Quarantined Area in California

To:             State, Tribal, and Territory Agricultural Regulatory Officials

Effective immediately, the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), in cooperation with the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA), is expanding the areas quarantined for citrus greening (Huanglongbing; HLB), caused by Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus, in California. APHIS is expanding the quarantined area in the Foothill Ranch and Mission Viejo areas of Orange County by 26.69 square miles, the Riverside area of Riverside County by 11.30 square miles, and the Valley Center area of San Diego County by 85.19 square miles. These measures parallel the intrastate quarantines that CDFA established on March 24 (Orange County), April 18 (San Diego County), and April 22 (Riverside County), 2025. APHIS is taking this action because of citrus greening detections in plant tissue samples collected from residential properties in Orange, Riverside, and San Diego Counties. This expansion will impact 2,761.85 acres of commercial citrus. 

APHIS is applying safeguarding measures outlined in 7 CFR 301.76 and Federal Orders pertaining to the interstate movement of regulated articles from the quarantined areas in California. This action is necessary to prevent the spread of citrus greening to non-infested areas of the United States.

The APHIS Citrus Greening website contains specific changes to the quarantined areas in California. APHIS will publish a notice of this change in the Federal Register.

For additional information you may contact:

Abby R. Stilwell
Agriculturist
(919) 323‑6296
abby.r.stilwell@usda.gov  

Daniel Murphy
Agriculturist
(775) 221-9237
daniel.m.murphy@usda.gov

 

/s/
Matthew A. Rhoads
Acting Deputy Administrator
Plant Protection and Quarantine