Feds to Provide Calif. $4M to Help Fight Glassywinged Sharpshooter

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is providing $4 million in emergency funding to address the growing threat posed by the invasive glassy-winged sharpshooter (GWSS) in California, Rep. Mike Thompson (D-Calif.) announced. 

This funding will allow the CDFA to expand trace-forward investigations, increase inspections, destroy infested materials, and strengthen trapping and visual surveys at high-risk locations associated with recent GWSS-infested plant shipments. The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) works with the CDFA and county agricultural commissioners through a long-standing cooperative program to manage and contain GWSS in California.

The funding announcement follows congressional letters and a call between Thompson and USDA Undersecretary Hoskins about the importance of federal assistance to stop the spread of glassy-winged sharpshooters for California agriculture producers. USDA has been working in close collaboration with Secretary Karen Ross of the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) and county agricultural commissioners as they lead the response and conduct trace-forward activities.