March 9, 2002

Dear Ms. Pacheco,

I am requesting under the FOIA any and all records, correspondences, emails, studies, scientific data, scientific evidence, notes, meeting notes or anything that would pertain to this request. The request is being made of Dr. Wayne Wehling and/or any other Department of Agriculture personnel that had input in the decision establishing a policy restricting the interstate transport of butterflies in and out of the state of Florida. These restrictions pertain to;

• Agraulis vanillae
• Danaus plexippus - must originate from Florida or Atlantic Coast state. Outbound must only be shipped to east coast states.
• Heliconius charitonia - must originate from FL, SC, GA, AL
  

I am requesting information as stated above which will document how this policy originated as well as the information used as the basis for the establishment of the restriction.

Prior to the research on this request, I am also requesting a clear written statement of this policy, as it has not been communicated clearly to those who it affects.

It is important that our Board of Directors receive this information as soon as possible in order to address future regulatory concerns.

Please send all correspondence regarding this request to: Jon Timko, 508 Cabot Drive, Hockessin DE 19707. Please contact me at 302.235.0712 or by email at timko6@comcast.net if you are unclear about the request.

Thank you,

Jonathan M. Timko
Board Member
International Butterfly Breeders Association (IBBA)

• Although a formal response to our FOIA request has not yet been received, IBBA president Peggy Hatcher has forwarded the following petition to Dr. Wayne Wehling of APHIS/USDA on March 14, 2002:

March 14, 2002

Wayne F. Wehling, Ph.D.
Plant Protection and Quarantine
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
U.S. Department of Agriculture
4700 River Road, Unit 133
Riverdale, MD 20737-1236

Dear Dr. Wehling:

We recently received information under the Freedom of Information Act in response to our request for information regarding the restriction on the interstate shipment of Monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) into and out of the state of Florida. As written, this policy restricts Monarch shipments into the state for release purposes to be from only certain eastern seaboard states. The policy also prohibits Monarchs from being shipped out of Florida. The policy also restricts shipments of Painted Lady (Agraulis vanillae) as well as Zebra Longwing (Heliconius charitonia) butterflies into Florida.

After reviewing the information obtained from the FOIA request, and communicating directly with Florida State permitting authorities at the department of agriculture, it is clear that there is no basis, scientific or otherwise, for these restrictions. Florida permitting authorities stated that they did not request these restrictions; they were not consulted about scientific or other reasons for instituting the restrictions; and were totally unaware that USDA put these restrictions in place.

On behalf of the members of the International Butterfly Breeders Association, I request that the policy restrictions put in place by USDA for Monarch, Painted Lady and Zebra Longwing butterflies be lifted immediately, with a return to the previous regulations for Florida, as approved by the state’s permitting authorities, Drs. Heppner, Thomas and Edwards.

Thank you,

Peggy Hatcher
President
International Butterfly Breeders Association (IBBA)

(hard copy to follow)

• Petition filed to rescind policy on March 14, 2002 (see above).
• Appeal of determination filed 9/23/02 (below)

September 19, 2002

Administrator
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
Ag Box 3401
Washington, DC 20250-3401

 RE: FOIA 02-313

 I am requesting a formal appeal of the determination made on FOIA 02-313. This is in reference to a March 9, 2002, Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request I made on behalf of the International Butterfly Breeders Association. I requested any and all documentation pertaining to the decision that established a policy restricting the interstate transport of various species of butterflies in and out of the state of Florida. Specifically, I requested documentation of how this policy originated and the basis for the restriction.

According to the determination agency employees conducted a thorough search of their files but did not locate any records responsive to the request. This request was made because of the undue hardship and detriment to business that this policy presents to commercial butterfly breeders in the United States. Since this policy has such major implications to our members’ businesses it would follow that considerable discussion, facts, and documentation would be available from the USDA to justify the policy. Our members desire to understand the science upon which the policy was established. However, the determination indicates no documentation exists. This would lead us to believe that this policy has no basis and should be cancelled.

I thank you in advance for your consideration of this appeal.

Respectfully,

Jonathan M. Timko
IBBA Board Member  

• No documentation located. See link above.

Appeal Determination - CLICK HERE