SPRO Letters

SPRO letters are official communication from the APHIS PPQ Deputy Administrator advising State Plant Regulatory Officials of significant and timely changes to phytosanitary regulations or emerging phytosanitary issues. Despite our best efforts, this collection of SPRO letters may not be complete and topical concerns should be addressed through your APHIS PPQ State Plant Health Director
(click on the state you are interested in once the APHIS web page loads). If you have a SPRO letter not listed below, please forward the document to the webmaster. SPRO letters are posted without editing. More current SPRO letters may supercede previous postings.

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APHIS Actions

• Archived APHIS Actions

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Asian Longhorned Beetle

• October 15, 2020  APHIS Establishes an Asian Longhorned Beetle (Anoplophora glabripennis) Quarantine Area in Charleston County, South Carolina
• September 12, 2019  APHIS Removes the Remaining Asian Longhorned Beetle (Anoplophora glabripennis) Regulated Area in Brooklyn and Queens, New York
• October 29, 2018     APHIS Removes a Portion of the Township of Monroe, Clermont County, Ohio, from the Asian Longhorned Beetle (Anoplophora glabripennis) Regulated Area
• June 13, 2018    APHIS Removes Portions of the Townships of Batavia and Stonelick, Clermont County, Ohio, from the Asian Longhorned Beetle (Anoplophora glabripennis) Quarantine
• Archived Asian Longhorned Beetle Letters

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Moths: European grapevine moth, gypsy moth, box tree moth, light brown apple moth

• March 3, 2020  APHIS Amends Entry Requirements for Importation of Boxwood, Euonymus, and Holly from Canada into the United States
• September 5, 2019  APHIS Adds the Entire State of Maine to the Gypsy Moth (Lymantria dispar) Regulated Area
• April 25, 2018  APHIS Adds Seed and Underground Crops to the Exempted Host List for the Light Brown Apple Moth (Epiphyas postvittana) in California
• Archived Light Brown Apple Moth SPRO Letters
• Archived Gypsy Moth SPRO Letters
• Archived European Grapevine Moth SPRO Letters

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Citrus

• June 30, 2020  APHIS adds portions of Cameron County in Texas to the Domestic Citrus Canker (Xanthomonas spp.) Quarantine Area
• February 7, 2020  APHIS Expands the Huanglongbing Quarantined Area in California
• December 18, 2019 APHIS Expands the Citrus Greening Quarantined Area in California
• December 2, 2019 APHIS Expands the Citrus Greening Quarantined Area in Texas 
• Archived Citrus Related SPRO Letters

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Emerald Ash Borer

• August 2, 2019  APHIS adds portions of Alabama, Minnesota, Nebraska, and Maine to the Emerald Ash Borer (Agrilus planipennis) Regulated Area
• Archived Emerald Ash Borer SPRO Letters

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Fruit Flies

• November 5, 2020  APHIS Establishes Mexican Fruit Fly (Anastrepha ludens) Quarantine in Lasara, Willacy County, Texas
• September 29, 2020 APHIS Removes the Mexican Fruit Fly (Anastrepha ludens) Quarantine Area in Laredo, Webb County, and Zapata, Zapata County, Texas
• September 9, 2020  APHIS Removes the Mexican Fruit Fly (Anastrepha ludens) Quarantine Area in Harlingen, Cameron County, Texas
• July 29, 2020 APHIS Removes the Mexican Fruit Fly (Anastrepha ludens) Quarantine Area in Lasara, Willacy County, Texas
• July 14, 2020 APHIS Removes the Mediterranean Fruit Fly (Ceratitis capitata) Quarantine Area in Devore, San Bernardino County, California
• June 3, 2020  APHIS Establishes a Mexican Fruit Fly (Anastrepha ludens) Quarantine in Zapata, Zapata County, Texas
• May 20, 2020  APHIS Modifies Conditions for Interstate Movement of Regulated Articles in Quarantined Areas for European Cherry Fruit Fly (Rhagoletis cerasi)
• March 12, 2020  APHIS Establishes a Mexican Fruit Fly (Anastrepha ludens) Quarantine in Laredo, Webb County, Texas
• March 3, 2020   APHIS Expands the European Cheny Fruit Fly (Rhagoletis cerasi) Quarantine to include all of Orleans County, New York
• February 27, 2020  APHIS Establishes a Mexican Fruit Fly (Anastrepha ludens) Quarantine in Cameron County, Texas
• February 12, 2020  APHIS Establishes a Mexican Fruit Fly (Anastrepha ludens) Quarantine in Lasara, Willacy County, Texas
• December 17, 2019  APHIS Establishes Mediterranean Fruit Fly (Ceratitis capitata) Quarantine Area in Devore, San Bernardino, California
• December 2, 2019  APHIS Removes the Mexican Fruit Fly (Anastrepha ludens) Quarantine in La Feria, Cameron County, Texas
• December 2, 2019 APHIS Removes Mexican Fruit Fly (Anastrepha ludens) Quarantines in Mission and Sullivan City, Hidalgo County, Texas
• Archived Fruit Fly SPRO Letters

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Imported Fire Ant

• April 17, 2018   Expansion of Quarantine Areas for the Imported Fire Ant (Solenopsis invicta Buren, S. richteri Forel, and hybrids of these species) in North Carolina and Tennessee
• Archived Imported Fire Ants

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Import/Export Conditions – Permitting

• August 9, 2019  APHIS Amends Entry Requirements for Importation of Tomato and Pepper Seeds from All Countries into the United States
• October 29, 2018  APHIS Amends Requirements for Fresh Blueberry Fruit (Vaccinium spp.) Imported from Chile into the United States
• October 4, 2018 – APHIS Rescinds Federal Order Prohibiting the Importation of Pomegranate Arils from Peru and Restricts Pomegranate Arils from Peru, India, and All Other Countries
• Archived Import/Export Condition – Permitting SPRO Letters

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Miscellaneous Pests

• August 18, 2020  APHIS Removes Zone Y from the Giant African Snail (Lissachatina fulica, formally Achatina fulica) List of Regulated Areas
• June 3, 2020  APHIS amends Federal Order for U.S. Imports of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) and pepper (Capsicum spp.) hosts of Tomato brown rugose fruit virus (ToBRFV)
• April 21, 2020  Detection of Ralstonia solanacearum race 3 biovar 2 in a United States Greenhouse
• November 15, 2019  Federal Order for U.S. Imports of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) and pepper (Capsicum spp.) hosts of Tomato brown rugose fruit virus (ToBRFV)
• August 7, 2019  APHIS Provides an Update on Spotted Lanternfly Activities
• August 1, 2019  Federal Order for U.S. Imports of Hosts of Tomato Leaf Miner (Tuta absoluta)
• February 14, 2019  APHIS Updates Regulated Areas in Miami-Dade County for Giant African Snail (Lissachatina fulica, formally Achatina fulica)
• Archived Miscellaneous Pests SPRO Letters

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Phytophthora ramorum

• July 10, 2019 APHIS Confirms Detection of Phytophthora ramorum-Infected Plants in Commerce
• Phytophthora ramorum SPRO Letters

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Pine Shoot Beetle, Tomicus piniperda

• Archived Pine Shoot Beetle SPRO Letters

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Plum Pox

• October 18, 2019  APHIS Removes Plum Pox Virus Regulated Areas in Orange and Ulster Counties, New York
• Archived Plum Pox SPRO Letters

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Potatoes

• January 17, 2020 – APHIS Adds Pale Cyst Nematode (Globodera pallida) Infested Field and Removes Other Fields from Regulation in Idaho
• February 11, 2019 – APHIS Adds Pale Cyst Nematode (Globodera pallida) Infested Field and Removes Other Fields from Regulation in Idaho
• Archived Potato Related SPRO Letters

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Rusts, Smuts, and Bunts

• February 4, 2020  APHIS Amends Karnal Bunt (Tilletia indica) Regulated Areas in La Paz, Maricopa, and Pinal Counties in Arizona
• May 20, 2019  APHIS Amends Karnal Bunt (Tilletia indica) Regulated Areas in La Paz, Maricopa, and Pinal Counties in Arizona
• April 5, 2018  APHIS Amends Karnal Bunt (Tilletia indica) Regulated Areas in Maricopa and Pinal Counties in Arizona
• Archived Rusts, Smuts and Bunts SPRO Letters

Deregulated Pests

• Archived Deregulated Pests SPRO Letters

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