NEWS RELEASE l Ohio Department of Agriculture |
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Governor Bob Taft Lieutenant Governor Jennette B. Bradley Director Fred L. Dailey |
Communications Office8995 East Main Street • Reynoldsburg, Ohio 43068 Phone: 614-752-9817 • Fax 614-466-7754 ODA URL: www.ohioagriculture.gov • e-mail: agri@agri.ohio.gov |
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 22, 2004
Media Contact: Melissa Brewer, EAB Communications, 614-728-6404
Andy Ware, ODNR Division of Forestry, 419-210-0860
Emerald Ash Borer Discovered in Henry County in Maumee State Forest
REYNOLDSBURG – Ohio Agriculture Director Fred Dailey today announced that Emerald Ash Borer (Agrilus planipennis), a destructive exotic pest from Asia, has been identified in ash trees in Maumee State Forest. Ohio Department of Agriculture surveyors soon will begin scouting the area to determine the extent of the infestation.
“The discovery in Henry County is a prime example of our state and federal partnership to combat the Emerald Ash Borer,” Dailey said. “The infestations in Maumee State Forest were found in trap trees monitored by federal and state foresters, and agriculture officials are working to determine the boundaries of the infestation in preparation for eradication. This collaboration is vital in eradicating Emerald Ash Borer and protecting Ohio’s 3.8 billion ash trees.”
Four locations have been found to be infested in Maumee State Forest with affected trees in Henry, Fulton and Lucas counties. The infestation in Henry County, located about five miles from an infestation in Oak Openings Metropark that was discovered earlier this summer, is the county’s first known infestation.
Survey workers will look for additional infestations by surveying the surrounding areas, including all of the 3,100-acre Maumee State Forest. The Forest includes about 150 acres of ash trees, according to Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Forestry officials.
“The recent discovery of new Emerald Ash Borer infestations poses a threat to the continued presence of ash trees at Maumee State Forest,” said John Dorka, chief of the ODNR Division of Forestry. “Our goal is to manage this problem as a model to woodland owners in the region on how best to deal with this destructive pest.”
In addition to the Maumee State Forest infestations, this week Emerald Ash Borer was confirmed in Greenwood Park, located in north Toledo. The infested ash tree is about one mile from the Michigan-Ohio border and about three miles from a recently identified infestation on Oatis Street. Survey work soon will begin in areas surrounding Greenwood Park. Officials are treating these finds as “satellite infestations” and until more survey work is complete will not know if this is related to the core infestation in Michigan.
Ash trees infested with the Emerald Ash Borer will typically die in three to five years. The pest belongs to a group of insects known as metallic wood-boring beetles. Adults are dark metallic green in color, 1/2 inch in length and 1/8 inch wide, and fly only from mid-May until early August. Larvae spend the rest of the year beneath the bark of ash trees, and when they emerge as adults, leave D-shaped exit holes in the bark about 1/8 inch long.
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To date, Emerald Ash Borer infestations have been identified in Defiance, Franklin, Fulton, Henry, Lucas, and Wood counties. The pest was first identified in Ohio in Lucas County in 2003.
Citizens can help by reporting signs of Emerald Ash Borer to the Ohio Department of Agriculture Division of Plant Industry at 800-OHIO-EAB. They should also refrain from moving ash trees, ash lumber, or any firewood inside or beyond quarantined areas and should alert the department at 800-282-1955 if they receive such items from quarantined areas. For more information on detection and identification of Emerald Ash Borer, go to the Ohio Department of Agriculture’s Web site, www.ohioagriculture.gov, and look under “Emerald Ash Borer.”
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