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

• May 21, 2021    APHIS Adds Portions of Charleston and Dorchester Counties, South Carolina to the Asian Longhorned Beetle (Anoplophora glabripennis) Quarantine Area
• October 15, 2020  APHIS Establishes an Asian Longhorned Beetle (Anoplophora glabripennis) Quarantine Area in Charleston County, South Carolina
• Archived Asian Longhorned Beetle Letters

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Moths: European grapevine moth, gypsy moth, box tree moth

• May 26, 2021  APHIS Amends Entry Requirements for Importation of Boxwood, Euonymus, and Holly from Canada into the United States
• March 3, 2020  APHIS Amends Entry Requirements for Importation of Boxwood, Euonymus, and Holly from Canada into the United States
• Archived Gypsy Moth SPRO Letters
• Archived European Grapevine Moth SPRO Letters

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Citrus

• October 26, 2021  APHIS adds portions of Cameron County in Texas to the Domestic Citrus Canker (Xanthomonas spp.) Quarantine Area
• August 23, 2021  APHIS removes a portion of Harris County in Texas from the Domestic Citrus Canker (Xanthomonas spp.) Quarantine Area
• August 17, 2021  APHIS updates the Citrus Black Spot (Phyllosticta citricarpa) Quarantine Area in Florida
• Archived Citrus Related SPRO Letters

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Fruit Flies

• August 13, 2021  APHIS Expands the Mexican Fruit Fly (Anastrepha ludens) Quarantine Areas in
  Cameron County, Texas
• July 14, 2021  APHIS Establishes an Amended Host List for the Mexican Fruit Fly (Anastrepha ludens)
• June 30, 2021  APHIS Removes the Mexican Fruit Fly (Anastrepha ludens) Quarantine Area in Lasara, Willacy County, Texas
• June 17, 2021  APHIS Reduces the Mexican Fruit Fly (Anastrepha ludens) Quarantine Area in
  Cameron County, Texas
• May 28, 2021  APHIS Expands the European Cherry Fruit Fly (Rhagoletis cerasi) Quarantine to include all of Monroe and Wayne Counties, New York
• Archived Fruit Fly SPRO Letters

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Imported Fire Ant

• October 14, 2021  Expansion of Quarantine Areas for the Imported Fire Ant (Solenopis invicta Buren, S. richteri Forel, and hybrids of these species) in North Carolina and Tennessee
• June 17, 2021  Expansion of Quarantine Areas for the Imported Fire Ant (Solenopis invicta Buren, S. richteri Forel, and hybrids of these species) in Arkansas, North Carolina, Oklahoma, and Virginia
• Archived Imported Fire Ants

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Import/Export Conditions – Permitting

• November 22, 2021  Restrictions on Potatoes and Soil from Prince Edward Island, Canada due to
  Potato Wart
• September 7, 2021  APHIS amends entry requirements for importation of Fragaria spp., Rosa spp., and
  Rubus spp. plants from Canada into the United States
• August 17, 2021 APHIS Amends Import Requirements for Fresh Fig Fruit from Mexico
• April 1, 2021  APHIS Amends Import Requirements for Plums from Chile
• Archived Import/Export Condition – Permitting SPRO Letters

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Miscellaneous Pests

• June 17, 2021 APHIS Removes Zones BB and W from the Giant African Snail (Lissachatina fulica, formally Achatina fulica) List of Regulated Areas
• May 21, 2021 APHIS amends Federal Order for Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense Tropical race 4 (Foc TR4) Import Restrictions
• April 20, 2021  APHIS Removes Zone B from the Giant African Snail (Lissachatina fulica, formally Achatina fulica) List of Regulated Areas
• March 4, 2021  APHIS Removes Zone AA from the Giant African Snail (Lissachatina fulica, formally Achatina fulica) List of Regulated Areas
• February 17, 2021  APHIS Removes Zone G from the Giant African Snail (Lissachatina fulica, formally Achatina fulica) List of Regulated Areas
• Archived Miscellaneous Pests SPRO Letters

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Phytophthora ramorum

• May 21, 2021 APHIS Adds Del Norte County in California to Phytophthora ramorum Quarantine Area
• Phytophthora ramorum SPRO Letters

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Plum Pox

• Archived Plum Pox SPRO Letters

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Potatoes

• November 5, 2021  Potato Wart Detection on Prince Edward Island, Canada
• August 20, 2021  APHIS updates the Golden Nematode (Globodera rostochiensis) Regulated Area in Suffolk and Nassau Counties in New York
• August 13, 2021  APHIS Removes Pale Cyst Nematode (Globodera pallida) Associated Fields from Regulation in Idaho
• March 19, 2021 – APHIS Adds Pale Cyst Nematode (Globodera pallida) Associated Fields and Removes Other Fields from Regulation in Idaho
• Archived Potato Related SPRO Letters

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Rusts, Smuts, and Bunts

• October 22, 2021  APHIS Amends Karnal Bunt (Tilletia indica) Regulated Areas in La Paz, Maricopa, and Pinal Counties in Arizona
• Archived Rusts, Smuts and Bunts SPRO Letters

Deregulated Pests

• December 3, 2021  APHIS Removes the Federal Domestic Quarantine for Light Brown Apple Moth (Epiphyas postvittana) and Interstate Movement Restrictions Effective December 17, 2021
• Archived Light Brown Apple Moth SPRO Letters
• Archived Deregulated Pests SPRO Letters

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