USDA fires experts on invasive pests, including Asian citrus psyllid, chilli thrips

Photo © Frank Peairs, Colorado
State University, Bugwood.org

The Trump administration has fired at least 145 workers in plant protection at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, according to NBC News.

Entomologists, soil conservationists and tree climbers who hunt for pests have been swept up in the Trump administration’s frenzied and turbulent efforts to drastically shrink the federal workforce, according to a list of terminated job titles obtained by NBC News.

Overall, nearly 6,000 probationary workers — new employees who’d been on the job less than a year or workers who’d been promoted — were eliminated from USDA, including other highly trained scientists and technical staff stationed across the country to help customs officers screen imported items, identifying and quarantining those infested with dangerous pests, NBC reported.

Among those who lost their jobs is Jonah Ulmer, a national taxonomist and the federal government’s foremost authority on chilli thrips and Asian citrus psyllids. It was the job of Ulmer and his USDA colleagues to identify and quarantine highly destructive species that appear on perishable goods during the inspection process required at U.S. ports of entry, according to NBC News.

“You can’t ever be wrong. You always have to be right,” Ulmer told NBC News. “The one that you identify as a nonquarantine pest, and it comes in the country and wreaks havoc? The impacts of that could be millions or billions of dollars in economic damage.”

A board this week ordered USDA to temporarily reinstate for at least 45 days probationary employees whom it fired, but it’s not clear when they’re going back to work — or for how long, especially since President Donald Trump has made his intention to reduce the federal workforce very clear, NBC News reported.

Potential effects of the cuts include higher risks of pests and diseases entering the U.S., inspection delays and higher costs for importers and consumers, according to NBC News.

Workerw were told they were fired for “performance” issues, but Ulmer and others said they've received praise for their work and never had performance-related complaints. Since their division is largely funded through user fees importers pay, staff cuts don’t mean big savings for taxpayers, NBC News reported.

“The insects don’t care what the current political environment is,” Ulmer told NBC News. “They’re just going to keep coming.”

Click here to read the full story from NBC News.

Editor's note: Read more on chilli thrips from Greenhouse Management here and more on Asian citrus psyllids from Nursery Management here and here.