John Kabashima, Ph.D., retired Environmental Horticulture Advisor for the University of California Cooperative Extension, is calling for support on California bill AB-2470.

The bill aims to authorize and fund the Invasive Species Council of California as well as the California Invasive Species Advisory Committee.

These committees will attempt to provide statewide coordination of various invasive species that are not currently being adequately addressed by established state agencies, such as the California Department of Food and Agriculture and the United States Department of Agriculture.

Kabashima relates that his biggest concern and finding from the 2018 Invasive Species Summit, which took place in January, was "the Urban Forest and it's role as an urban incubator of "orphan pests" not being addressed by the CDFA, USDA, and other organizations."

He goes on to state that this resulted in "killings of hundreds of thousands of urban and riparian trees and enabling these pests to increase to numbers that make it possible to explode into agriculture and natural forests."

Bill AB-2470 will be reviewed by the Senate Conference committee on June 6, and Kabashima kindly requests you call or email your support to any of the committee members below that you are represented by:

Senator Mitchell
Staffer: Luan Huynh- Luan.Huynh@sen.ca.gov