Tate Township land owners hired legal council Nov. 15 to represent them while dealing with the United States Department of Agriculture and the Ohio Department of Agriculture, who have begun the Asian longhorned beetle eradication process in the township.

Attorneys Brian O’Connell, Kevin Braig and Gabrielle Hils, all with Dinsmore and Shohl, will be representing approximately 120 property owners in Tate Township who have come together to oppose the removal healthy trees that are host to the Asian longhorned beetle.

“We have two primary goals,” O’Connell, the lead attorney, said. “The first is to do everything we can to stop the cutting and removal of non-infested trees. The second is to receive compensation for trees that are cut down.”

O’Connell said he and the other attorneys will work together to achieve those goals on behalf of property owners. He said Braig specializes in environmental and agriculture lawsuits while Hils’ background is in class action lawsuits.

Although they have just begun working with property owners, O’Connell said they are in the process of speaking with both USDA-APHIS officials as well as contractors and others involved in the tree-removal process.

“We’re looking at trying to work out something with the USDA to try to resolve this,” O’Connell said. “Work out something without going to court.”

Bill Skvarla, owner of Harmony Hill Vineyards, where the beetles were first discovered, heads up the group of property owners, and said they worked together to raise $7,000 in one week to pay for the legal assistance.

“Our goal is to stop them from taking down the healthy trees,” Skvarla said. “We want them to take down the infested trees.”

Currently, infested trees are the only trees being removed in the township, however, USDA-APHIS and ODA officials are working on an environmental assessment in which they plan to propose the removal of host-trees as well.

Because the Asian longhorned beetle can infest most hardwood trees including maples, birches, ash trees and more, and because the beetles are easily transported in wood materials, USDA-APHIS officials said removing host trees is the best way to ensure the beetles do not continue to infest trees in the township and beyond.

“Doing host removal eliminates any trees we missed and any trees the beetles would be able to thrive in,” Rhonda Santos, ALB public information officer at APHIS, said. “It’s really the best course of action for eradication.”

Many land owners have spoken out against the removal of healthy trees even though the environmental assessment has not yet been released. Santos said once the assessment is released there will be a 30-day period for public comment.

“The program takes comments and evaluates them and determines the best course of action moving forward,” Santos said.

O’Connell said if USDA-APHIS and ODA decide to pursue the cutting of host trees, they will seek an injunction to stop the removal while they file a suit.

Brett Gates, public information officer for ODA, said they are following the guidance of APHIS officials when it comes to the eradication of the beetle and the Ohio Revised Code section 927.70 grants the director of the ODA the authority to eradicate invasive pests.

“We are familiar with that statute and we think that a lot of that hinges on interpretation,” O’Connell said. “And then constitutionality of that statute and how that is interpreted.”

Land owners are not the only ones who have expressed their opposition to the eradication plan. Clermont County Commissioners as well as Bethel Village Council both passed resolutions to oppose the removal of host trees and Congresswoman Jean Schmidt scheduled a telephone town hall for Nov. 29, to answer questions about efforts to stop the spread of the beetles in Clermont County.