OHIO DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
OFFICE OF COMMUNICATIONS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 30, 2003
Media Contact: Melanie Wilt, ODA Communications, 614-752-9817 

Ohio Emerald Ash Borer Task Force to Develop Plan of Action 

REYNOLDSBURG – Ohio Agriculture Director Fred Dailey has officially appointed an Emerald Ash Borer Task Force made up of experts from various state and federal agencies and educational institutions. This advisory task force will make recommendations on the department’s regulatory response to the Emerald Ash Borer.  

“The Emerald Ash Borer has only been recognized in Michigan since last summer and they have lost millions of ash trees to it already,” Dailey said. “We are still learning about this and the scale of the problem in Ohio at this early stage. We are relying on the knowledge of all of these individuals to steer us in an appropriate direction.” 

The members of the task force and the organizations they represent are as follows:

Robert Acciavatti, Ph.D., Forest Entomologist, USDA Forest Service

Dan Balser, Program Administrator, Ohio Department of Natural Resources

Philip Bell, Regional Program Manager, USDA/APHIS

John Burch, State Health Plant Director, USDA/APHIS

Tom Harrison, Agriculture Inspection Manager, Ohio Department of Agriculture

Daniel Herms, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Entomology, Ohio State University – Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center

Craig Kellough, Project Director-EAB, USDA/APHIS

David Schleich, Chief of Plant Industry Division, Ohio Department of Agriculture

David Shetlar, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Entomology, Ohio State University

Drew Todd, Program Coordinator, Ohio Department of Natural Resources Urban Forestry

The next meeting of the task force has not been scheduled.

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