Ash Trees

This is from the Friends of the Yahara River listserve, but I thought others might be interested in it:

A sad but necessary action...

There are many good sources of information on this threat to one of our most common trees in Madison. Please do help us keep watch for this pest. This page from the DNR includes information on what to watch for and who to call if you suspect a particular tree is afflicted:

http://www.wnrmag.com/stories/2006/apr06/borer.htm#5

Ash trees to be cut down statewide
They will be tested for deadly pest in 17 counties
By Anita Weier
October 4, 2006

Dane County is one of 17 Wisconsin counties where some ash trees will be cut down to be tested for infestation by the emerald ash borer.

The destructive wood-boring beetle has left behind millions of dead and dying ash trees in the Midwest, but has not yet been found in Wisconsin.

State officials hope to find the beetle early if it does enter the state, so steps can be taken to stop it from spreading.

Unfortunately, testing for the disease - and fighting its spread if found - involves felling trees. State officials say about 270 trees in and around Madison will be taken down in the next 12 months.

The emerald ash borer, native to Asia, has been responsible for the loss of an estimated 20 million ash trees in Michigan, Ohio and Indiana since its detection in the United States in 2002. The beetle also was found in northeastern Illinois this summer.

Wisconsin has about 717 million ash trees in the forested areas of the state, according to Dick Rideout, head of the Urban Forest Council at the state Department of Natural Resources. Additionally, as many as 30 percent of the city-planted trees in many municipalities are ash.

Survey work by the state Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, the DNR and the U.S. Department of Agriculture started Oct. 2 in several counties, but work in Dane County will not likely begin for several weeks, according to Jane Larson, a spokeswoman for the state agriculture department.

"No one likes to cut down live trees," said Adrian Barta, a plant pest program coordinator for the state agriculture department. "Unfortunately, in this case, the best tools we have for detection of new infestations require taking down trees."

Early detection is the best protection against the ash borer, Barta said in a written statement.

Sample trees of less than 10 inches in diameter and in declining health will be targeted. Trees on public land will be chosen where possible, and some Wisconsin municipalities already have offered trees.

The surveyors plan to cut down 1,420 trees statewide this year and peel a 12-inch strip of bark, a process known as girdling, from another 4,480 trees that will be cut down next autumn, Larson said in an interview today.

"Girdling is a method that intentionally injures the tree bark. When ash trees are girdled, the tree releases distress chemicals that are believed to attract emerald ash borers," Barta said.

Counties chosen for testing are close to known infestations in neighboring states, have high tourist traffic, like Dane County, or have concentrated timber or firewood operations using ash.

Besides Dane, the counties selected for testing are: Adams, Brown, Columbia, Juneau, Kenosha, Manitowoc, Milwaukee, Outagamie, Ozaukee, Racine, Rock, Sauk, Sheboygan, Walworth, Washington and Waukesha.

Work crews will locate and mark ash trees in public rights of way along roads for later removal and inspection. Crews will carry identification, and vehicles will have signs reading "EAB Survey," state officials said.

The number of trees cut down per county will vary. For instance, more trees will likely be sampled in border counties.

In Dane County, areas to be tested are in Madison and towns surrounding it. An estimated 135 trees would be cut now and another 135 girdled and cut next fall, Larson said.

"We have state and federal people helping with this, and we may work with some municipalities,

" Larson said. "Kenosha and Waukesha have already offered some of the trees in their public areas. We have not started working Dane yet. Before we go into a county, we would work with the county and municipalities so they know what we are doing."

The borer attacks all types of true ash trees, including green, white, black and blue ash trees. Hybrids also are susceptible, Larson said, but the mountain ash is not a true ash tree and would not be susceptible.

"If the borer is found, you do have to remove ash trees within a half-mile of infestation," Larson said. "You need to find out how large the infestation is. In Illinois, I don't think they are trying to remove trees yet; they are finding the size of the infestation."

More information about the emerald ash borer and ash trees can be obtained at datcp.state.wi.us or at entomology.wisc.edu.

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