03-11-2009
Emerald Ash Borer Common in Newburg Area

Madison - Seven months after the discovery of emerald ash borer (EAB) in southeastern Wisconsin, state officials have determined that the infestation that straddles the Ozaukee and Washington county line near the Village of Newburg is too large to completely remove from the area. Surveys conducted by state and federal agencies since August of 2008 in and around the village reveal that the infestation of EAB covers nearly 5,000 acres (about 7.5 square miles) in an area that could contain as many as 50-thousand ash trees.

Strategies for managing this invasive insect will focus on efforts to slow the spread of the beetle, help identify and develop market opportunities to capitalize on the timber resource, and to continue monitoring throughout the state for signs of new infestations.

"Survey crews have confirmed EAB in ash trees throughout the Newburg area and surrounding countryside, in an area that's about three miles long and two miles wide," said Brian Kuhn, Director of the Plant Industry Bureau at the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection. "A researcher at Michigan State University has also concluded that some of the infested trees in the area have been harboring EAB for five years."

Given the size and age of the infestation, an attempt to completely remove the beetles from the area is not an option that state or federal officials will attempt.

"Slowing the spread of EAB beyond the generally infested area is now one of the major goals of the program, and it's a goal that relies heavily on the residents and property owners in the quarantine area," said Bob Dahl, State Plant Regulatory Officer with DATCP.

Area residents can take several steps to help prevent the spread of EAB. They are:

* Follow all quarantine guidelines. For most, that will mean not moving firewood out of the quarantined area.
* Learn about the signs and symptoms of EAB infestation, including the characteristics of an infested tree. This information can be found at the Wisconsin EAB Program Web site at www.emeraldashborer.wi.gov.
* Report suspicious ash trees or request information by calling the Wisconsin EAB Program hotline toll-free at 1-800-462-2803.

Workshops are planned in the coming months to help local landowners, municipal employees, tree care specialists and others learn more about the infestation and prepare for the work ahead. Much of the physical response to the infestation will be done on a voluntary basis by communities and property owners. State officials hope to help minimize the associated costs through the development of markets and other utilization opportunities.

"While there are no proven management techniques to guarantee that the dispersal of EAB can be slowed, we can say that removing and destroying any infested trees from the area will help reduce the population of EAB," said Darrell Zastrow, Director of the Office of Forest Science with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. "For the time being, our approach to this infestation will be to help residents and communities determine which trees are suitable for removal and may have the greatest impact on reducing the local EAB population. The state will also provide assistance with locating or developing markets for that wood."

A partnership of state and federal agencies including the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, the Department of Natural Resources, and the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service - Plant Protection and Quarantine is continuing work surveying the infested area and other areas of the state for the destructive forest pest. The University of Wisconsin-Madison, the UW Extension and the USDA Forest Service are also cooperators in evaluating management options and in outreach to citizens and local units of government.

The emerald ash borer was first detected in Wisconsin in July of 2008 on private property in northwestern Ozaukee County. Within days of that discovery, adult beetles were trapped in the Village of Newburg in northeastern Washington County. A quarantine on hardwood firewood, ash nursery stock and other ash products has been in place in those counties and in neighboring Fond du Lac and Sheboygan counties since shortly after the discovery.

EAB has also been found in Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Illinois, West Virginia, Virginia, Missouri and the Canadian Provinces of Quebec and Ontario.

The adult emerald ash borer is a metallic green insect about one-half inch long and one-eighth inch wide. The larval stage of the insect is what damages the tree, feeding on the soft layer of wood between the bark and the hard wood, where the tree's water and nutrient-conducting vessels are found. Disrupting the flow of nutrients leads to the decline and eventual death of the tree. EAB is native to Asia. Researchers think it was introduced into the United States in the early 1990s in shipping containers that arrived in Detroit.

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