Evaluating Threats to U.S. Plant Health:

The New Pest Advisory Group

Through its Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) 

program, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA)

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) 

safeguards American agriculture and natural resources 

from plant pests and diseases. One of the best ways 

to protect U.S. plant health is to find and address 

new pest threats early, before they have a chance to 

damage the economy and the environment. PPQ’s New 

Pest Advisory Group (NPAG)—made up of scientists, 

analysts, and plant health experts—is central to 

this work. 

What We Do

NPAG is an analytical research team. When a new 

pest threat arises, we rapidly assess the pest’s biology; 

predict its potential distribution, spread, and impact 

on the economy and the environment; explore likely 

pathways and knowledge gaps; and create a brief 

technical report for Federal decision makers. This 

information is crucial to inform Federal determinations 

and actions that may be appropriate in the early stages 

of pest introduction or that may stop a pest from 

entering our country. 

While NPAG does not make policy, we recommend 

actions PPQ might take in response to new plant pest 

detections, based on our risk assessments.

We focus on two kinds of plant health threats: 

1) New Pests—recently detected in the continental 

 United States, Hawaii, or any of the U.S. Territories, 

 and PPQ’s National Identification Services (NIS) has 

 officially recognized the pest’s identification.

2) Exotic Pests—not yet present in the United States 

 but a new (unregulated) pathway for its introduction 

 has been identified. This includes pests newly 

 introduced into Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean.

Process Overview: 

Analyzing Pest Risks

The NPAG process starts when we are officially notified 

about a new or exotic pest. For new pests, official 

notification includes a confirmed PPQ report and NIS 

recognition. For exotic pests, written documentation 

from a reputable source—such as a published journal 

article, an official foreign government report, or a U.S. 

port of entry interception record—is needed. 

When evaluating pest threats, we gather information 

from many sources: primary literature, internal and 

external databases, online materials, and subject 

matter experts (both within and outside government). 

The NPAG process follows the quality control 

procedures of reputable scientific journals and meets 

international standards for quality management (ISO 

9001:2008-certified). 

ANIMAL AND PLANT HEALTH INSPECTION SERVICE AUGUST 2016

PLANT PROTECTION AND QUARANTINE 
Our Reports

An NPAG report is the last step in our process. This 

is a brief technical report that gives key information 

about the pest, including: biology, hosts, distribution, 

and known pest status; potential pathways and 

likely areas where it could establish; an evaluation 

of possible economic, environmental, and trade 

impacts; available detection and control methods; 

current policies and regulatory activities; any 

uncertainties or technology and knowledge gaps; and 

recommendations for PPQ decision makers. Highly 

trained risk analysts review NPAG reports to verify the 

quality and completeness of scientific information in 

them and the conclusions drawn from the science. 

Typically, NPAG reports are the first PPQ document 

written when a new pest is officially identified in the 

United States. The reports are mainly internal to 

APHIS, though in some cases may be shared with a 

wider audience and made available to stakeholders 

upon request.

NPAG Recommendations

Our reports may include one or more of the following 

recommendations:

• Do not take action; remove pest from reportable/ 

 actionable list

• Conduct a survey program to gather information 

• Initiate an eradication or official control program

• Institute a quarantine

• Carry out a public education program to raise 

 awareness about the pest

• Support or conduct further research 

We base our recommendations on the best available 

information. We forward our reports to relevant 

PPQ decision makers and consult with the National 

Plant Board when deregulation is recommended. 

When the pest is more urgent, we may forward the 

report directly to the PPQ management team, which 

includes the Deputy Administrator. But as already 

mentioned, the NPAG does not set policy. PPQ 

leadership and program managers ultimately decide 

on what actions to take, if any. In doing so, they 

consider NPAG reports along with other factors 

and information, including input from stakeholders, 

as appropriate.

For More Information

To learn more about our work, email us at 

npag@aphis.usda.gov or go to www.aphis.usda.gov/

plant-health/npag. 

USDA is an equal 

opportunity provider, 

APHIS 81-35-031 employer, and lender.