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Emerald Ash Borer

Alert!!!

May 23, 2007

Confirmed:  Hamilton County has been quarantined effective today, May 23, 2007.  The infestation was confirmed in Anderson Township by the Ohio Department of Agriculture.  Click here for more information about the quarantine.

 

July 2, 2007

Butler & Montgomery Counties are added to the growing list of quarantined counties in Ohio.  Warren, Hamilton and now Butler and Montgomery Counties in Southwest Ohio are all quarantined; 31 out of 88 Ohio Counties are now under quarantine.

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You've probably read a news article or seen a news story on your local TV channel about the Emerald Ash Borer.  In four years, this half inch beetle has caused the destruction of almost 20 million ash trees in Michigan and Ohio.  It has already been found in Indiana and Illinois.  If this beetle is not contained, the ash tree may disappear in these states.  If it is not contained, this beetle threatens every ash tree in North America.

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Background

Emerald ash borer (EAB), Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire, is a half inch long, exotic beetle that was discovered in southeastern Michigan near Detroit in the summer of 2002.  It was found in Lucas County Ohio in February of 2003.  Since then it has been found in 19 other Ohio counties as far south as Warren County.

The Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA), Ohio Department of Natural Resources Forestry Division (ODNR), The Ohio State Extension Program (on the State level) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA/APHIS) and the United States Forest Service (USFS) have combined efforts to halt the spread of EAB. 

At this time there is no 100% effective pesticide; once a tree is infested it will die within 3 - 5 years. The adult beetle lays eggs on the bark of the ash tree.  The larvae the burrow below the bark and begin feeding on the outer most ring of the tree (the cambium and phloem) which distributes the trees nutrients and water to the top and bottom of the tree.  The S - shaped tunnels (or galleries) made by the larvae destroys the outer ring and the tree essentially starves.  The adults emerge through the tree in distinctive and unique 1/8 inch D - shaped exit holes (other beetle leave round or oval exit holes).  The following website has a PowerPoint presentation on identifying EAB infestation in a tree.  http://ashalert.osu.edu/mainpage.asp?pageview=factsheets

The adult beetles travel only half a mile per year.  The quick spread of the Emerald Ash Borer has been attributed to the movement of infested wood through firewood and nursery trees.  The Ohio Department of Agriculture has imposed quarantines to prevent the movement of ash wood out of counties where the Emerald Ash Borer has been found.

 

Economic and Environmental Impact

One in every ten trees in Ohio is estimated to be an Ash tree.  There are an estimated 3.5 million ash trees in urban areas alone.  The Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) estimates that the Emerald Ash Borer's potential impact to Ohio citizens and businesses for the removal, disposal and replacement of ash trees to be in the billions of dollars over the next decades.

Ann Arbor, MI was one of the first cities infested with EAB.  Because they did not have time to plan they suddenly found themselves with thousands of dead and dying ash trees that had to be removed (5,000 in public right of ways and 5,500 in city parks).  The estimated removal and disposal cost of the ash trees was $4.2 million over two years.  The city placed an EAB tax levy on the ballot to raise the funds.  The levy was defeated and the city was forced to reallocate existing funds in other department budgets.

 

Current Status

Ohio has found the Emerald Ash Borer in 25 counties and the Ohio Department of Agriculture has placed a quarantine preventing the movement of ash wood from those counties.  Additionally the US Department of Agriculture has placed quarantine on the entire state of Ohio preventing the movement of ash wood out of the state of Ohio.

The following websites provide more information on the quarantines:

http://www.ohioagriculture.gov/eab/plnt-eab-regulations.stm

http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ppq/ep/eab/quarantine.html

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources has 10,000 detection trees throughout Ohio.  They plan to have checked all of these trees by the middle of January 2007.  They will quarantine the counties where EAB is found.

 

What You Can Do

• Stop planting ash trees. 
• If you camp, buy your firewood at your location and leave what you don't use there.
• If you buy firewood, ask where the wood came from and make sure it did not come from a quarantined county.
• Identify ash trees on your property and determine if it would be a danger to persons or property if it fell.  Ash trees become brittle quickly once they die and must be felled quickly.  It is easier and less costly to cut them down while they are still alive.

 

Next Steps

The township will begin to inventory the ash trees on township right of ways and in the township parks.  The following website provides detailed information on how to identify an ash tree. 

http://ohioline.osu.edu/for-fact/0055.html

The Township will complete an EAB management plan for trees on township right of way and in township parks.

This website will continue to be updated with new information as it becomes available.

 

Useful Links

Ohio Department of Natural Resources Forestry Division (ODNR) - provides information on detecting EAB in your ash tree, links to videos about EAB and other useful information http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/forestry/urban/features/eabscoop.htm

Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA) - EAB infestation and quarantine maps, quarantine details, general information and links to all government websites http://www.ohioagriculture.gov/eab/

The Ohio State Extension Program - PowerPoint presentations on ash tree and EAB identification, updates on scientific pesticide projects, good general information and photos http://ashalert.osu.edu/

United States Department of Agriculture (USDA/APHIS) - good information on federal quarantine, federal strategy, EAB background, infestation map and photos http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ppq/ep/eab/

United States Forest Service (USFS) - good all around information site but not as in depth as the other websites http://na.fs.fed.us/fhp/eab/

 

BEWARE OF SCAMS!

 If you would like any more information from Colerain Township, please call Tom Bosarge, Colerain Township Parks & Services, at 513-385-7503 or contact him at recreation@coleraintwp.org .