Dismal Failure

Describes the State of Florida's Citrus Canker eradication program. The state spent 875 million dollars and destroyed eleven million citrus trees. Now the state is abandoning this program saying the Federal Govt won't finance it anymore and that it was failure. The 2004 and 2005 hurricane seasons making the fight now impossible.

This is little comfort to all the people who lost their trees. I did, we lost an orange tree and six other trees. The state declaring they had to destroy them because another infected tree was too close(I forget it had to be within 1800 ft.). Nature has its own cycles of life and death and I wonder if man is right to try interfering. The state destroyed countless trees at great expense, I'm sorry just don't simply wash with me and I don't think it should with anyone else in the state.

Open Post- Bright & Early, Right Wing Nation, TMH's Bacon Bits, Basil's Blog,

After spending about $875 million to destroy more than 11 million citrus trees since 1995, Florida officials will stop cutting healthy citrus trees in the battle against the spread of canker.

The state made the abrupt decision Wednesday after learning that federal agriculture officials had declared the canker eradication program a failure and said they would not pay another dollar toward it.

The 2004 and 2005 hurricanes spread the disease over so many acres of citrus groves and neighborhoods that it became impossible to eliminate it, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said.

Area residents still fortunate enough to have citrus trees in their back yards were pleased with the news, while the commercial citrus industry began considering a new plan to deal with canker.

"Based on the letter I have received, signed by USDA Deputy Secretary Chuck Conner, there is no eradication program anymore," Florida Agriculture Commissioner Charles Bronson said. "As of right now, only infected trees will be taken out."

But healthy trees within 1,900 feet of infected trees — considered exposed to canker by scientists and state law — no longer will be removed, Bronson said.

"The storms have created a Swiss-cheese approach to this thing that was causing this disease to go miles further ahead of any official front we were able to combat," he said.

Since 1995, the state and federal governments have spent about $500 million to remove infected and exposed citrus trees in 24 counties, splitting the cost roughly in half, Florida Department of Agriculture spokeswoman Liz Compton said.

In addition, a voucher program giving homeowners Wal-Mart gift cards for removed trees has cost $18 million, and another $2.8 million is needed; a $55-a-tree payment program has cost $23 million and needs another $477,015 to catch up to payment requests; and the USDA has paid $334 million in compensation to commercial citrus growers for trees, with another $400 million in unfunded requests pending.

The state enacted the 1,900-foot rule in March 2000, and it became a law two years later. The rule immediately became the subject of a lawsuit that went to the Florida Supreme Court.

From the start, the law was a source of heartache and frustration for homeowners who lost the shade, fruit and sentimental value of their citrus trees.

Bronson said he would ask Gov. Jeb Bush to call a special legislative session as soon as possible to vote on rescinding the law that requires removal of trees within 1,900 feet of infected trees. Bush said Wednesday the USDA's action troubled him.

State Rep. Richard Machek, D-Delray Beach, said the capital was abuzz with talk about the canker eradication program's demise.

"True agriculturists are concerned about it," Machek said. "Private property owners with small trees in their back yards are jubilant. It will take a day or two for everything to settle down."

Meanwhile, in a letter e-mailed to Bronson on Tuesday, Conner wrote: "In light of current conditions in Florida, the best available information we have suggests that the 1,900-foot rule should be eliminated to support the revised cooperative agreement and the new approach to citrus health."

The 2004 storms caused an accelerated eradication program on 80,000 additional commercial acres, Conner said. Despite removal of trees at a rate of 120,000 a week, 32,000 acres of affected commercial citrus groves remained when Hurricane Wilma blew through in October 2005.

Officials think Wilma spread canker across 168,000 to 220,000 more acres of commercial citrus groves. The entire state has 750,000 acres of citrus groves.

"Industry representatives have indicated that they would not survive the destruction of more than 25 percent of Florida's commercial citrus acreage," Conner said.