Collins reintroduces bipartisan bill to research, mitigate invasive species

U.S. Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) recently offered a bipartisan bill that would fund mitigation and research on spotted wing drosophila (SWD), an invasive pest from East Asia that lays eggs in soft-skinned fruit crops, including blueberries, cherries, raspberries, blackberries, and strawberries.

Since first detected in the continental United States in 2008, SWD have spread across the West Coast, and through Florida, Utah, the Carolinas, Wisconsin, and Michigan, causing more than $700 million in estimated economic loss per year nationally, according to information provided by Sen. Collins’ office.

“Maine’s wild blueberries are an integral part of our state’s heritage and play a major role in our state’s economy,” Sen. Collins said. “The pervasiveness of the spotted wing drosophila has threatened the livelihoods of fruit farmers across the country.  If left unchecked, it could have serious repercussions for our state’s blueberry industry, as well.”

Sen. Collins on Feb. 9 signed on as the lead original cosponsor of the Spotted Wing Abatement Trust (SWAT) Act, S. 322, which is sponsored by U.S. Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) to establish a fund managed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service that would advance research and bolster efforts to reduce the SWD population in the U.S. The fund would be authorized at $6.5 million annually for five years, according to a summary provided by the lawmakers.

“Our bipartisan legislation would mitigate the rapid spread of this invasive pest and help prevent blueberry and other fruit crops from being spoiled by this infestation,” said Sen. Collins.

Philip Fanning, assistant professor of agricultural entomology at the University of Maine, and the Wild Blueberry Commission of Maine endorsed the bill, which has been referred for consideration to the U.S. Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee.

“Through the funding in the SWAT Act, growers here in Maine and nationally will be able to benefit from an important new tool in the fight against the invasive vinegar fly, spotted-wing Drosophila,” Fanning said. “Since its emergence as a pest of berry crops in Maine and nationally, growers have suffered due to the increased costs associated with pest control.”