On Thu, 8 May 2008 08:35:27 -0400, "Ker_01" <ker_01@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
wrote:
>I'm in Puerto Rico (work trip) and would like to bring a handful of
plants
>back with me to Michigan (Mango, Avocado, etc- all fruit trees).
>
>I contacted APHIS by email and was told that they consider Puerto Rico a
US
>state (it is actually a US Commonwealth, but for USDA purposes it is
treated
>as a state). They have no problems as long as I don't have endangered
>plants, and the plants are clean of pests and trans****ted without soil.
>
>I contacted the Michigan Dept of Agriculture to make sure they wouldn't
have
>any problems with the im****t. They indicated that fruit trees are not
>regulated (they have a list of noxious plants, and a list of vegetables
you
>can't im****t into the state). All good so far.
>
>I asked the workers at the USDA inspection station at the Puerto Rico
>air****t on my last trip if they had any concerns about bareroot fruit
trees
>headed to Michigan, and they said that there shouldn't be any problem.
>
>I'm buying the plants from a government nursery, but the department I'm
>buying them from expressed two rules/concerns that I hadn't heard from
any
>of the above, and I'm wondering if anyone has specific experience and
could
>help me understand what I should be prepared for when I show up at the
>air****t with my plants;
>
>(1) I was told that there is a new regulation (went into effect in the
last
>week or so?) that limits the number of plants I can take through in my
>baggage. I'm probably still under any reasonable limit (I'm thinking of
>maybe 6 plants total). I checked the APHIS website but didn't see any
>postings for new regulations about quantity of plants
>
>(2) The APHIS fruit & plant im****t list actually lists the requirement as
>"plants without soil" and I had originally been told that there were
other
>non-soil mediums that could be used to help retain moisture during
>trans****t. Also, I ordered plants from a Puerto Rico commercial nursery
>several years ago and received them ****pped in a soil-free medium. I'm
now
>being told that I can't/shouldn't use any medium and just carry the
plants
>completely bareroot, because the APHIS inspectors will just remove any
>medium anyway (or possibly not let the plants through).
>
>Does anyone have recent experience personally trans****ting plants from
>Puerto Rico, or anyone on this list from APHIS that could help me
understand
>what to expect?
>
>Many thanks,
>Keith
>
I commiserate with you on the many demarches you have taken without
any definite solution.
Faced with this kind of situation, I'd contact my Member of Congress
and ask for an operational answer. These folks LOVE to do
"constituent services", which they hope translates into votes next
election.
If you don't know who your Rep. is, go to http://www.house.gov/
and follow the prompts. Depending on your time frame, you could
either call and ask for a Constituent Services staffer or --
preferably -- send an email or fax copying the dilemma you outlined
above, and follow up next day or so with a phone call.
Heck, we pay these, uh, "individuals", so might as well get
some help when you need it! They have the access to
make a phone call or two and, one hopes, cut your Gordian knot.
Let us know if you did it and how it worked out.
Persephone
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