November 26, 2006

Buy Firewood Locally

The firewood season is here. Firewood can be purchased from individuals, dealers or retail stores, or many people cut their own firewood. However, a new pest to the northern Illinois area should encourage persons using ash wood as firewood to use local sources as much as possible. The Emerald Ash Borer has been found in several communities in northeastern Illinois this summer and fall.

As with the Asian Longhorned Beetle, which showed up in the Chicago area several years ago, the Illinois and U.S. Departments of Agriculture are working with communities and industry to try to control the spread. The Emerald Ash Borer only affects ash trees, unlike the Asian Longhorned Beetle which infested more than 10 types of common shade trees.

"One of the major helpful things that individuals can do to help reduce the spread of the pest is to use local firewood," says John Church, University of Illinois Extension Educator, Natural Resources, Rockford. Don't bring in firewood or other ash wood products from infested areas or from a long distance. If camping in infested areas, leave unused firewood at that site. If buying ash firewood for the winter, be sure of its source. Since the borers do not typically travel far on their own, reducing human transport can help reduce the potential spread of the problem. Areas identified with the Emerald Ash Borer are officially quarantined to restrict the movement of wood, wood products and the borer. However, individuals can follow similar guidelines voluntarily to help prevent the spread.

When purchasing firewood or other ash products, be a good observer. The borer lays eggs in the bark of the tree and when the borer hatches, it will tunnel under the bark and start feedingon the sapwood of the tree, leaving serpentine trails shallowly under the bark. Also, small D-shaped holes in the bark are also a clue, which are left by adult beetles leaving the sapwood. No other insect creates the BB-size D-shaped holes on ashes. Evaluating wood or trees prior to cutting for these exit holes is important as it is one of the signs of infestation. Peeling back the bark may also give an indication of trails and borer larvae.

For more information on the borer, contact the local University of Illinois Extension office or go to the website: http://www.mortonarb.org/plantinfo/plantclinic/EAB.htm. The site contains information from numerous agencies and organizations such as U. of I. Extension.

For additional information on firewood, its characteristics and purchase, go to the U. of I. Extension website: web.extension.uiuc.edu/forestry/timber_harvest/firewood.html.

.

-30-

Posted by Ron Wolford at 5:59 AM | Permalink |

November 21, 2006

USDA Expands EAB Quarantine in Illinois, Indiana and Ohio

The U. S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service today announced the expansion of its emerald ash borer (EAB) quarantine to include the entire states of Illinois, Indiana and Ohio, more than doubling the previously quarantined area, which includes the entire lower peninsula of Michigan. The new quarantine becomes effective on Dec. 1 following the issuance of a federal order.

APHIS is expanding the quarantine in response to the destructive nature of this invasive plant pest and the significant threat it poses to the ash resource in our nation's forests and residential landscapes. The quarantine regulations will help to mitigate the spread of the pest while the science community continues to work to develop solutions to combat EAB, including improved detection and control strategies. The ultimate goal is to eradicate this pest from North America.

To date, USDA has spent more than $100 million on research, eradication and reforestation efforts. USDA estimates that if EAB is not contained or eradicated, it has the potential to cost state and local governments approximately $7 billion over the next 25 years to remove and replace dead and dying ash trees that can pose a safety hazard in urban and suburban areas.

Today's federal order restricts the interstate movement of regulated articles that originate within the quarantine area. Regulated articles include ash nursery stock and green lumber; any other ash material including logs, stumps, roots, branches, as well as composted and uncomposted wood chips. Due to the difficulty in distinguishing between species of hardwood firewood, all hardwood firewood, including ash, oak, maple and hickory are regulated articles.

Three years of EAB survey data support the need to implement strict regulations for the movement of host material. Survey methods are not 100 percent effective for early detection of the pest, and given this uncertainty, the possibility of spreading EAB in unprocessed host material presents a serious risk that requires immediate action.

APHIS is working closely with the states affected with EAB and those border states to address this invasive species. The federal interstate movement restrictions associated with the quarantine augments state quarantines in Illinois, Indiana and Ohio that regulate the movement of firewood and ash wood products within those states.

APHIS also works cooperatively with state agriculture and forestry agencies, universities, landscape, nursery, and other affected industries and the international scientific community to develop strategies for the detection, control and eradication of EAB.

EAB is an invasive species wood-boring beetle, native to China and eastern Asia, which targets ash trees. EAB probably arrived in North America hidden in wood packing materials commonly used to ship consumer and other goods.

It was first detected in July 2002 in southeastern Michigan and has since
been found in Ohio, Indiana, Maryland, Virginia and Illinois.

Everyday human activity facilitates the long distance spread of EAB, expanding the extent and range of the infestation in North America. The movement of ash tree products has been found to advance the spread of EAB. Currently, EAB is responsible for the death and decline of more 25 million ash trees in the United States.

For more information on EAB and APHIS' expanded quarantine, please visit
www.aphis.usda.gov.

Posted by Ron Wolford at 12:09 PM | Permalink |

November 14, 2006

Durbin Meets with Secretary Johanns to Discuss EAB Funding

U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met with Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns to discuss the need for increased funding to eradicate Emerald Ash Borer from the state. Durbin also addressed issues important to Illinois farmers, which are likely to be contained in the 2007 Farm Bill.

Illinois has more than 131 million ash trees, comprising about 20 percent of all of the trees in the Chicago area, said Durbin. In the past few years, the Emerald Ash Borer has killed tens of millions of trees throughout the Midwest. This is a problem that cannot wait for the bureaucratic wheels to slowly turn. Today, I urged Secretary Johanns to provide the state with additional funding to combat this infestation.

The Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) is a bright green beetle that kills trees by burrowing into their bark and destroying the trees ability to bring water from the roots to upper branches. Infected trees usually begin to die within two to three years. The Emerald Ash Borer was first discovered in Kane County, Illinois in mid-June.On July 11, the Illinois Department of Agriculture announced its second discovery of the ash borer in the Village of Wilmette in Cook County.

Last June, in response to the discovery of EAB in Illinois, Durbin wrote to Secretary Johanns and APHIS Administrator Ron DeHaven requesting their immediate attention to this issue. In July, USDA announced the release of $7.6 million in emergency funding to conduct surveys and control EAB in Illinois. So far, about $800,000 of the $7.6 million has been spent and Illinois Department of Agriculture and USDA-APHIS have set up the necessary cooperative agreements to transfer another $2.5 million by the end of the year.

Posted by Ron Wolford at 1:22 PM | Permalink |