Department of Agriculture endorses permanent quarantine of colorful invasive tree
MANHATTAN — Rhonda Goodin expressed appreciation for the beauty of flowering Callery pear trees that dot the yard of her home in Derby and argued against imposition by the Kansas Department of Agriculture of a permanent quarantine of what the agency concluded was an inherently invasive species.
Goodin, who was among three people to offer comment Wednesday during the public hearing conducted by the Department of Agriculture, said the 320 written comments received about a ban starting in 2027 came primarily from residents of Sedgwick, Shawnee, Douglas and Johnson counties.
Nobody in 75 of 105 counties bothered to offer an opinion for or against the moratorium recommendation submitted to Agriculture Secretary Mike Beam, she said.
“I realize some people don’t like these trees,” Goodin said. “If you want to get rid of these trees in your yard, that’s fine and good with me. But what I do in my yard doesn’t seem to be any of your business. My bottom line is don’t make the rest of us have to abide by something that a few want. Kansas is a big state. Stay out of my yard.”
Under the proposed quarantine, the Callery pear tree in all its brethren — Bradford, Cleveland Select, Chanticleer — couldn’t be sold or planted anywhere in Kansas after Jan. 1, 2027. The three-year grace period was intended to give commercial tree growers a chance to sell existing stock and bring on alternative trees.
The Department of Agriculture has recommended removal of invasive plants or trees on public and private lands, but the quarantine policy regarding Callery trees wouldn’t mandate that individuals cut them down.
Carol Baldwin, a range management specialist with the extension service at Kansas State University, said the Department of Agriculture was right to seek a statewide moratorium to stem encroachment of Callery trees easily scattered by birds to open ground and wooded areas.
She said delaying action by the state until the tree spread further west into Kansas would make the challenge of undermining the tree more difficult.
“I totally support this effort to remove Bradford pears from the stream of plants that we have in the state,” Baldwin said.
Kansas would be among a handful of states to take proactive steps against the tree if the moratorium was affirmed by the agriculture secretary this year, said Chris Cardwell, a program manager for Deep Roots. It’s an organization that advocates for native plants and eradication of invasive plants.
“The Callery pear is one of the, if not the most, critically threatening invasive species for land managers and for ecology, habitat, wildlife as well as industry,” Cardwell said.
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources said that as of Jan. 1 it was illegal to sell, grow or plant Callery pear trees in Ohio because of their invasive qualities and likelihood to cause economic or environmental harm.
An analysis by Kansas agriculture officials indicated the Callery pear readily spread beyond areas into which it was planted for ornamental purposes. It also posed a threat because it reproduced by seed and vegetatively by sprouting from its shallow root system.
The order under review by the agriculture secretary says the structurally deficient tree with an odor resembling rotting fish was “known to have innate tendencies for invasiveness which requires that an exterior and interior quarantine of Callery pear be established in the state.”
In addition, the proposed order would enable the secretary of agriculture “to enter and inspect any property,” other than private residences, for the purpose of inspections and enforcing a moratorium.
The Callery pear tree was introduced to the United States by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Maryland to create ornamental landscapes in the 1960s. The tree was chosen because it was inexpensive, transported well and grew rapidly. And, the trees have been tolerant of a variety of soil types, drainage levels and soil acidity.
State agriculture officials suggested alternatives to the Callery pear would include the redbud, crabapple, serviceberry, hophornbeam trees.
Kansas Reflector is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Kansas Reflector maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Sherman Smith for questions: info@kansasreflector.com. Follow Kansas Reflector on Facebook and Twitter.
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