 non-native, metallic
green beetle
 kills all species of
ash trees.
Marianne Prue, Ohio Department of Natural Resources - Division of Forestry, Bugwood.org
Beetle larva eat the living tissue (cambium)
between the bark and the wood, effectively
girdling the tree.
David Cappaert, Michigan State University, Bugwood.org
Edward Czerwinski, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Bugwood.org
Credit: Dan Herms, Ohio State University
exit hole
 “S” galleries under
the bark
David R. McKay, USDA APHIS PPQ,
Bugwood.org
David Cappaert, Michigan State University, Bugwood.org
 “D” shaped
 Suckering
 Dieback
 Excessive
woodpecker
activity
Steven Katovich, USDA Forest Service,
Bugwood.org
James W. Smith, USDA APHIS PPQ,
Bugwood.org
Daniel Herms, The Ohio State University, Bugwood.org
Net volume (ft3) of all live ash trees in Vermont by county and
ownership1
1Data
from Vermont FIA Core Table 4, Morin, R.S.; Nelson, M.; De Geus, R. 2011. Vermont’s forest resources, 2010. Res. Note. NRS-105. Newtown
Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station. 4 p. Includes all live trees at least 5” DBH.
EAB puts all of these trees in danger.
 Natural
dispersal is
slow
 Accelerated by
people
 80% of all new EAB
infestations start in or
around campgrounds

© Mark Whitmore, Cornell University

Need to mitigate public
safety hazards
Cost of removal &
replacement of hazardous
ash trees-over $10.7
billion!
Home values will decrease.
Mark Whitmore, Cornell University

Published September 9, 2011
Excerpts from the study:
•
“We found that costs are largely borne by homeowners and municipal
governments.”
•
“Wood- and phloem boring insects are anticipated to cause the
largest economic impacts by annually inducing nearly $1.7 billion in
local government expenditures and approximately $830 million in lost
residential property values.”
•
“Given observations of new species, there is a 32% chance that
another highly destructive borer species will invade the U.S. in the
next 10 years.”
Losses
to the ash
products
industry could
be $25 billion in
the eastern U.S.
alone.
© Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural
Resources - Forestry Archive, Bugwood.org
 Tree
nursery industry
has already felt the
impacts.
© Caitlin Cusack, UVM Extension
 Key
species in many of
VT’s natural
communities
abundance of
invasive plant species
and alter insect and
amphibian populations
© Mark Whitmore, Cornell University
 Increase
Ash trees of the most widely planted urban tree types in the US.
© David Cappaert, Michigan State University, Bugwood.org
Ash, particularly black ash (Fraxinus nigra), is critical to Native
American cultural traditions.
Black ash baskets by
artists Kelly Church
(center red basket)
and Katie Sickles (2
outer baskets). ©
Nick Reo, Michigan
State University
 Municipality
will be
notified
 State will conduct a
delimiting survey
 Quarantines will be
put in place
Limits what we can do
 Requires labor,
intensive treatment,
and timing of
movement
 Special equipment is
needed

Anyone own a tub grinder?

Need a place to put
contaminated wood
 Know
the pests
 Stop the spread, don’t
move firewood
 Look UP to look out
for pests
 Develop a PLAN
It's better to look ahead and prepare than to look
back with regret.
Jackie Joyner-Kersee
Are your ash trees
identified?

Who owns them?


Whose responsibility is it
to treat or remove
potentially risky ash
trees?
Will you treat or remove
your community’s trees?
Michigan Department of Agriculture,
Bugwood.org

Can you afford to
manage them?
Can you afford not to?
 More
management options
 Time
 More
utilization options
 Save money—It will cost 2 to 3 times
more to take down dead ash trees VS live
or dying trees
1.
2.
3.
Removal
Removal and replacement
Insecticide treatment
 WHICH TREES?
• All publically owned ash
• All publically owned and some private ash that
have direct impact on public property
• Only high risk ash trees
 Effective
for healthy
small-medium trees
 Costly $15/inch
diameter
 Must be treated
every 2-3 years until
infestation passes
Who will remove?
Is there enough
equipment?
What do you do with the
wood?
Where will it go?
When can this be done?
An inventory will tell
you:
 How many trees you
have
 Condition of trees
 Identify any candidates
to preserve using
insecticides
 How to direct your
management activities
 Biosurveillance
 Girdled
trap trees
 Visual surveys
 Tree
removals
 Stump removals
 Wood disposal
 Insecticide
treatments
 Tree replacement
 Tree maintenance
 Planning Worksheet
 $500
is available to 20 communities
 Planning Community Resource Toolbox
(online)
 Planning Communications Toolkit
 Technical Assistance
Caitlin Cusack
UVM Extension
617 Comstock Rd, Suite 5
Berlin, VT 05602
caitlin.cusack@uvm.edu
802-656-7746

Content adapted from the NPDN First Detector Training “Monitoring &
Management”, “Planning for the Emerald Ash Borer” presentation by
Mark Whitmore, Forest Entomologist with Cornell University Department
of Natural Resources and “Why You Should Care about Emerald Ash Borer,
Onondaga County Planning Federation” presented by David Skeval &
Jessi Lynons, Cornell U. Cooperative Extension