Beetle battle woefully short on education.

Byline: Clive McFarlane

COLUMN: Clive McFarlane

The street I live on will be stripped of many of its trees because of the Asian longhorned beetle infestation.

This is a loss that will only be adequately measured in retrospect, but I think at the very least I can say the character of the street will be changed for the worse.

So, I think I understand the gravity of the Asian beetle infestation that has affected trees in Worcester and portions of Shrewsbury, Boylston, West Boylston and Holden. I understand the importance of an effective beetle containment and eradication operation.

But do we really need a beetle patriot act?

In case you missed it, state conservation and federal agriculture officials succeeded in urging lawmakers to file a bill that would greatly enhance the power of

state and federal agencies to fine and jail individuals determined to be beetle-quarantine nonconformists.

A hearing on the bill, backed by state Sen. Harriette L. Chandler, D-Worcester, and state Rep. James J. O'Day, D-West-Boylston, is being held today.

It would impose a fine of up to $25,000 per day and imprisonment for up to a year for anyone who violates "any rules, regulations, orders, licenses or permits" issued by the state Department of Conservation and Recreation.

The bill reserves the same penalties for anyone who "resists or obstructs" the "chief superintendent, any local superintendent or employee or authorized agent of any of them, while such person is engaged in suppressing or eradicating the Asian Longhorned beetle."

These proposed penalties seem a bit premature and open-ended, given that the experts have not yet gotten a handle on the problem.

First, infestation was confined to the Greendale and Great Brook Valley areas. Now the entire city is quarantined, some 62 square miles.

This widening infestation area, it would appear, is behind the rush to give more power to the DCR.

Mrs. Chandler said the bill is essential because it would give teeth to the current law, which prevents live beetles, firewood, lumber, branches, twigs, stumps or other woody materials from being transported out of the quarantine areas.

Currently, the DCR can only level a fine of $25, and that is hardly a disincentive for those who might profit from breaking the law, she said.

"They need something that will stop people from moving branches and trees from the infested areas, and right now they have nothing on the books," Mrs. Chandler said.

"This (beetle infestation) has the potential to absolutely flatten the land, and the bill will provide Conservation with the regulations that can make a difference."

Mrs. Chandler's concerns are well taken, but we need to guard against agencies using a crisis to greatly and perhaps unnecessarily enhance their powers.

How about first trying a little education?

Worcester has done a good job in getting the word out. The city has conducted at least two community hearings on the issue, and has sent out mailers to residents.

The city also has sent out three business notifications, and is offering compliance training workshops for individuals and companies conducting business in the quarantine areas.

So far, some 250 landscapers, tree removal companies, nurseries and other contractors have completed the required workshop.

Yet a couple of meetings drawing several hundred people pale in comparison to the thousands of people who are impacted by the infestation.

Do homeowners know they should be checking the credentials of the landscapers, nurseries, tree removal companies with whom they are doing business? Do Worcester residents know that tree limbs can only be disposed of at 1065 Millbury St.?

Is everyone aware that the city has a Web site chock full of information about the infestations, including the rules and regulations governing quarantine areas, as well as important contact numbers: [phone]; [phone]?

Before we start dragging unsuspecting homeowners to jail, we should concentrate on educating them on the scope of the problem and the role they play in its resolution. Contact Clive McFarlane via e-mail at [e-mail]