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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 (July 11, 2005) – Ohio Agriculture Director Fred L. Dailey today announced the discovery of Emerald Ash Borer (EAB), a destructive exotic insect from Asia, in an ash tree in Carroll Township, north central Ottawa County. Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA) surveyors will soon begin work to determine the extent of the infestation.

Department officials discovered an EAB infested ash tree in the campgrounds of Wild Wings Campground and Marina while surveying campgrounds throughout Ottawa County. The Marina is located near the intersection of Russell Road and State Route 2. Officials suspect the infestation resulted from campers transporting infested ash-tree firewood into the campgrounds. Officials found firewood at the site that appeared to have been infested with EAB.

“With 82 campgrounds in Ottawa County, we’ve made Emerald Ash Borer detection a priority,” Dailey said. “We’re asking the public to assist us in battling EAB by refraining from moving firewood out of quarantined areas and helping to protect the landscape and natural resources that many travel to enjoy.”

It is illegal to move non-coniferous firewood and ash-tree materials from Michigan into Ohio. State and federal quarantines also prohibit the movement of these regulated articles out of quarantined areas in northwest Ohio. Violators face state fines up to $4,000.

To date, EAB has been identified in Defiance, Franklin, Fulton, Hancock, Henry, Lucas, Ottawa, and Wood counties. The pest was first discovered in Ohio in 2003. Since then, ODA has successfully eradicated the pest from Franklin and Defiance county sites. HHowever, those counties continue to be monitored.

Ash trees infested with EAB typically die within 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, one-half inch in length and one-eighth inch wide, and fly only from early May until September. 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 one-eighth inch wide.

For a map of the latest infestation, go to www.ohioagriculture.gov/eab, or call 1-888-OHIO-EAB.

Note to Editor: See media advisory: “Agriculture Department Announces Emerald Ash Borer Discovery in Ottawa County”

NEWS RELEASE l Ohio Department of Agriculture

Communications Office