Comment from Walker G Haun, Southern Plant Board

The Southern Plant Board (SPB) consists of principal plant pest regulatory officials from 13 states and Puerto Rico with a primary responsibility for protecting agriculture, horticulture, forestry, and the environment from the introduction and spread of plant pests. The SPB (Excluding Texas) would like to express support for the State of Florida effort to repeal the interim rule detailed in Docket No. APHIS-2007-0032-Citrus Canker; Interstate Movement of Regulated Nursery Stock from Quarantined Areas. As outlined, this interim rule prohibits the movement of citrus plants from Florida, with the exception of un-grafted calamondin and kumquat plants. After review, the SPB membership understands laws and regulations recently adopted and implemented by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services require all citrus plants to be propagated in approved structures that effectively prevent the entry of citrus canker or other citrus diseases and vectors of these diseases including the Asian citrus psyllid that spreads citrus greening. As such, we feel confident these program components will ensure that non-citrus producing southern region states will receive clean plant material. The SPB membership is encouraged to see that a systems approach is being implemented by the State of Florida in regards to this issue. With a systems approach in place, the risk of spreading organisms such as citrus canker and citrus greening would be negligible. We sincerely appreciate the opportunity to comment on the proposed regulations.