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	NEWS RELEASE l Ohio Department of Agriculture

Governor Bob Taft Lieutenant Governor Bruce Johnson Director Fred L. Dailey		Communications Office 8995 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

REYNOLDSBURG, Ohio (March 24, 2005) - The Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA) will target areas in and around Toledo in Lucas County for Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) eradication designed to eliminate this destructive insect. To help educate local residents about the program, ODA will host several open houses where residents can talk directly with the department’s plant pest control staff, learn about EAB, and view maps of the local eradication zones. Citizens may visit anytime during designated hours, at the following locations:

Location: Ottawa Park Nature Education Building, Kenwood Boulevard, Toledo, Ohio

Location: The former Martin School, 10 South Holland-Sylvania Road, Toledo, Ohio

Throughout the fall of 2004, Emerald Ash Borer infestations were discovered in or around the above areas. ODA will soon begin eradication, and all marked ash trees, whether they are visibly infested or not, within one-half mile of an infested tree will be destroyed.

Areas where eradication cannot be completed by May when EAB adults begin to emerge will be subject to “suppression cuts.” Ash trees within 200 yards of an infested tree will be cut down and destroyed. Select ash trees within the next 200 yards will be girdled, or wounded by removing a ring of bark, making the tree more attractive to the pest. All girdled trees and remaining ash trees within the department’s half-mile eradication zone will be destroyed at a later date.

Suppression cuts, as supported by the National Emerald Ash Borer Science Advisory Panel, will be used to eliminate the heavily infested ash trees in Toledo that will not be removed before adult emergence. This will help reduce the EAB population and alleviate the infestation growth in Lucas County until the department can fully eradicate the area. ODA is planning to eradicate all of Ohio’s known infestations, depending on the continuance of federal funding. Currently, ODA is fighting the pest in Oregon (Lucas County), North Baltimore (Wood County), and Pioneer (Williams County).

The department’s eradication program is conducted under its authority in Ohio Revised Code Section 927.70 to control, eradicate, and prevent the spread of invasive species and prevent massive economic losses to Ohio’s homeowners and nursery, timber, and tourism industries.

For more information about the open houses, call the department’s Emerald Ash Borer hotline at

1-888-OHIO-EAB, or visit the Web site at www.ohioagriculture.gov. Eradication maps also are available online.

NEWS RELEASE l Ohio Department of Agriculture

Communications Office