Floridians Sue Over Loss Of Backyard Citrus Trees

"I said, 'What if I don't let you in?' " Robert Pearce, 71, a retiree who works as a school crossing guard, testified in court last week. "They said, 'We'll call the police, and they'll let us in.' I said, 'What if I put a lock on the gate?' "They said, 'We'll cut it off . . . and if you have a dog, we'll tranquilize it. But we'll take your trees down.' "

All told, the state crews removed more than 840,000 trees in what Florida agriculture officials described as the largest plant-pest eradication effort ever in the United States.

In a region in which the orange is not only an icon but a treasured backyard treat, however, the effort provoked widespread anger and, now, five class-action lawsuits. Underlying the court sagas, moreover, are emotionally fraught questions regarding what measures the government can pursue in an emergency and what rights the public might be expected to surrender in those circumstances.

The tree-cutting effort was started in 1995 and was meant to eliminate citrus canker, a bacterial disease afflicting orange, grapefruit and other citrus trees, from spreading and damaging one of Florida's preeminent crops. Within years, the crews had orders to destroy not just infected trees but any others within 1,900 feet of an infection.

The issue in the courts is how much homeowners should be compensated for their trees. The state issued $100 Wal-Mart gift cards for the first tree, then $55 in cash for subsequent trees; the homeowners' attorneys meanwhile calculate that the tree value is several times as high, from $350 to $1,000.

But overshadowing the debate is the fact that the eradication effort did not succeed, and each side blames the other for the failure.

State agriculture officials argue that lawsuits from objecting homeowners imposed critical delays, allowing the canker to spread enough so that when the hurricanes of 2004 and 2005 hit, the bacteria could be spread in the winds.

"Without the lawsuits, we could have finished the eradication before the hurricanes," said Craig Meyer, deputy commissioner of the state's Department of Agriculture.

Homeowners say the science behind the eradication effort was flawed. The program "was doomed to fail from the start," said Robert Gilbert, an attorney for the homeowners. "The Department of Agriculture refused to listen to the countless scientists who said that the canker was already too widespread before they started."

Citrus canker, which causes the leaves and fruit of citrus trees to drop prematurely, poses no threat to humans.