![]() ![]() “I’ve seen other invasive insects like the emerald ash borer,” said Swackhammer, who has worked for Penn State for 23 years. Emilie Swackhammer works for the extension service doing public outreach. The federal government is working with the state Department of Agriculture as well as Penn State’s extension service on research projects and public education. The USDA will hire about 100 people this summer and spend $17.5 million to stop its spread. By the end of 2017, more than 3,000 square miles in southeastern Pennsylvania had spotted lanternflies, primarily in Berks, Montgomery, Northampton and Lehigh counties. He says in 2016, the lantern fly infestation covered about 174 square miles. “The ultimate goal is that we can potentially shrink this population down to the point where it is manageable or even potentially to eradicate it.”ĭonovall helped identify the pest when it was first discovered in Berks County in 2014. “We’ll go in with all of our force to try to eliminate that population before it can expand further and impact other businesses and industries outside of the region,” said Leo Donovall, the spotted lanternfly program director in Pennsylvania for the U.S. State and federal officials want to stop it, and they’ve spent about $20 million this year on research and eradication efforts. The spotted lanternfly, a brightly colored red and black moth-like insect and one of the latest invaders, landed in Pennsylvania’s Berks County around 2012 and has munched its way across 13 counties, threatening grapes, orchards and hardwood trees. But a downside to imports includes fighting against an onslaught of invasive species that hitch rides on wooden pallets, shipping containers, boxes and produce. International trade brings in fruits and vegetables, computers and cars. A graduate of Columbia School of Journalism, she earned her Bachelor's degree in International Relations from George Washington University.ĭavid Paar, owner of Arborescence in Montgomery County, bands a willow tree to trap lanternflies in their early life stages before they grow wings. She has also been a Metcalf Fellow, an MBL Logan Science Journalism Fellow and reported from Marrakech on the 2016 climate talks as an International Reporting Project Fellow. In 2013/14 she spent a year at MIT as a Knight Science Journalism Fellow. Murrow awards for her work with StateImpact. duPont-Columbia University Journalism Award for her work covering natural gas drilling in Pennsylvania. That same year she produced an award-winning series on Pennsylvania's natural gas rush called "The Shale Game." She received a 2013 Alfred I. In 2010 she traveled to Haiti to cover the earthquake. Susan's coverage of the 2008 Presidential election resulted in a story on the front page of the New York Times. ![]() ![]() She has worked as a reporter for WHYY since 2004. Susan Phillips tells stories about the consequences of political decisions on people's every day lives. ![]()
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