Updated March 22, 2020
The National Association of Landscape Professionals (NALP) urges landscape companies to contact their state and local officials to advocate for landscaping and lawn care as essential services. Here is a link to NALP’s statement and a form to automatically email your governor about the need to keep landscape businesses running during the coronavirus pandemic. Here is NALP’s roundup of the statements released by state and city governments regarding essential services.
COVID-19, essential businesses and the landscape industry, what to do about lockdowns
The coronavirus (COVID-19) is drastically impacting all of our lives in many ways. One of the most jarring ways has been the trend for state and local officials to institute a mandatory “lockdown” or “shutter in place” for all nonessential businesses. In some cases this has also been referred to as non-life-sustaining businesses.
This has caused much confusion for the landscape industry because every locality and state is drafting something different. Most orders have inferred landscape services without explicitly naming them.
NALP believes that landscape services are essential and therefore included in orders we have seen to date. Landscape professionals are partners during this critical time in assisting in the protection of public health and public safety. Without the landscape industry conducting these valuable services, we will undoubtedly see increased instances where people may be harmed or become sick from other illnesses compounding our already stretched medical resources.
Regardless of which language is used it is clear that landscape services are essential and life-sustaining. See below for a list of provisions that include landscape services:
Workers such as plumbers, electricians, exterminators and other service providers who provide services that are necessary to maintaining the safety, sanitation and essential operation of residences
– U.S. Department of Homeland Security & State of California
Support, such as road and line clearing, to ensure the availability of needed facilities, transportation, energy and communications
– U.S. Department of Homeland Security & State of California
Plumbers, electricians, exterminators and other service providers who provide services that are necessary to maintaining the safety, sanitation, and essential operation of residences, essential activities and essential businesses
– City of San Francisco
“Administrative Support Services – support services to businesses and dwellings”
– State of Pennsylvania
“Repair and Maintenance – personal household goods repair and maintenance”
– State of Pennsylvania
“Landscape and pool care businesses, including residential landscape and pool care services”
– City of Miami Dade County
“Georgia is blessed to have an incredibly diverse agricultural sector that includes everything from food producers and processors to landscape and green industries. We encourage local governments and decision-makers to consider the central role all these industries and businesses play in our state and local economies as they make key decisions during this response.”
– Georgia Department of Agriculture
This is not an exhaustive list, and the system is developing so rapidly that we believe we will focusing on this for the foreseeable future. But we need your help now. Engaging at the local level and through your state association is very critical at the moment. We want to thank our partners that joined us in sending this letter earlier this week to various state associations representing Governors, Public Health Officials and Agriculture Secretaries.
Please be hyper-vigilant and active with your local and state officials. Please share this information with friends and colleagues in the landscaping industry.
As of March 22, cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in 146 countries. There have been 15,219 cases reported in the U.S. in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands, according to The Centers for Disease Control.
Updated March 20, 2020
Free webinar:
Don’t Panic—PLAN!
Practical Tips and Tactics for Responding to the Coronavirus and Keeping Your Business on Course
Tuesday, March 24, 2020
3 p.m. ET
In the last few weeks and days, coronavirus (COVID-19) has brought—and continues to bring—sweeping changes across the country to the way we live and work. In this special free webinar, Marty Grunder, president and CEO of The Grow Group and of Grunder Landscaping Co., will give you an inside look into how his landscaping company is responding to the challenging situation and provide you with practical tips and tactics you can use now to keep your business on course for success.
Updated March 19, 2020
LM Editor-in-Chief Seth Jones broadcasts from his home in northeast Kansas to discuss how the Landscape Management team is working to cover the COVID-19 pandemic.
As of March 19, cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in 146 countries. There have been 7,038 cases reported in the U.S. in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands, according to The Centers for Disease Control.
Update from Responsible Industry for a Sound Environment (RISE)
The health and safety of RISE members, staff and guests is a top priority. In response to the current COVID-19 pandemic, it is taking the following steps through March 31: RISE staff is teleworking; any planned RISE meetings will be held virtually or cancelled; nonessential business travel for RISE staff will be cancelled; and registration for the Regulatory Conference (April 22-24) is on hold. More information will be forthcoming regarding whether the conference will be held as planned, postponed or cancelled.
Congressional Offices and State Legislatures Closures
Congress closed its doors to the public on March 12 in response to COVID-19 and congressional offices have now moved to telework. Federal government departments and agencies are increasingly moving towards telework as well. Several state legislatures are also closing, limiting public access and remaining for special sessions in response to COVID-19. Priority states Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Minnesota and Virginia are taking extraordinary measures impacting hearings and extending sessions. RISE is continuing to work on priority bills while preparing for the potential of longer and possibly shorter sessions. Contact Karen Reardon at kreardon@pestfacts.org for more information.
