OHIO
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
OFFICE OF COMMUNICATIONS
Emerald Ash Borer (Agrilus
planipennis), a destructive exotic pest from Asia, was identified in ash
trees in Hicksville in Defiance County on Aug. 7, 2003.
Ohio Agriculture Director Fred
Dailey reconvened a task force of experts – led by the Ohio Departments of
Agriculture and including members from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources,
Ohio State University Extension, and USDA Animal Plant Health Inspection Service
– to develop a plan to eradicate the pest.
Dailey has issued a quarantine
to restrict ash trees, firewood, branches, and logs from movement off affected
properties. As of Sept. 8, 15 properties had been quarantined: 14 in Defiance
County and one in Paulding County.
The quarantine will not prevent
the tool handle manufacturer from removing finished product from its property,
however, the quarantine restricts movement of wood chips greater than 1-inch in
diameter and raw wood materials.
Ohio Department of Agriculture
officials collected Emerald Ash Borer adults from trees on one property in
Hicksville on Aug. 7 after they received a call from a nursery owner indicating
they suspected a problem. The sample was positively identified as Emerald Ash
Borer on Aug. 13.
A
five-mile delimiting survey, completed Aug. 27, showed that the infestation
appears to be limited to the town limits of
Hicksville. No additional EAB infestations were discovered along the
roads or in wood lots within the five-mile survey area.
Survey
workers have not ruled out the possibility of additional point infestations in
areas outside of the Hicksville infestation. They continue to look at
properties, all within a 30-mile radius, that have ash trees purchased from the
Hicksville nursery. The company’s records have been helpful in leading
surveyors to findings on two of the quarantined properties. So far, only one
property – in Paulding County – has been identified as a point infestation
outside of the Hicksville zone.
The area for eradication will
be determined once the boundaries of this infestation are established. This
infestation is believed to cover a wider area than the infestation earlier this
year in Whitehouse in Lucas County from which EAB was eradicated in April.
An eradication plan for
Defiance and Paulding Counties has not yet been determined. The task force will
look to science and recent experience to determine the appropriate eradication
approach.
Some of the federal funds will
be used for signs to post at roadways to inform travelers of quarantines.
Emerald Ash Borer was first
confirmed in Ohio in February in Whitehouse (Lucas County). It was successfully
eradicated. The eradication involved cutting, chipping, and incinerating about
8,000 trees (mostly saplings) from 23 properties within ¼ mile of the five
infested properties. Other trees ¼ to ½ mile from the initial infestation were
treated with imidacloprid.
Indiana officials assisted
with Ohio’s survey, and they are conducting a similar search across the state
line just three miles west of Hicksville.
ODA officials check for signs
of invasive plant pests and diseases, issue phytosanitary certificates to assure
the health of plant species for interstate shipment, and conduct routine
inspections at nurseries, greenhouses and producers for problematic pests. They
also conduct work provided on a contractual basis for USDA.
Ohio has two inspectors working
on Emerald Ash Borer at this time. ODA has received valuable assistance from
Indiana and federal inspectors and its other plant pest inspectors.
To
determine the area that must be regulated, surveyors must first determine the
full extent of the damage before it can be estimated how far from the initial
infestation eradication procedures will be undertaken. Also before eradication
can happen, USDA must complete an environmental assessment.
Citizens can help by reporting
signs of Emerald Ash Borer to the Ohio Department of Agriculture Division of
Plant Industry at 800-282-1955. They should also refrain from moving ash trees,
lumber, or firewood inside or beyond the borders of Defiance and Paulding
Counties and alert the department at 800-282-1955 if they receive such items
from Defiance or Paulding County.
Ohio Department of Agriculture
USDA
Forest Service Emerald Ash Borer home page
http://www.na.fs.fed.us/spfo/eab/
Ohio Department of Natural
Resources, Tree Index http://ohiodnr.com/forestry/Education/ohiotrees/treesindex.htm
Michigan Department of
Agriculture
www.michigan.gov/mda,
search for “Emerald Ash Borer”
Anderson’s Ohio Revised Code
http://onlinedocs.andersonpublishing.com/revisedcode/
, search for Section 927.71