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Killer of ash trees invades the UP
Safeguards no match for beetle detected in
park
September 13, 2005
ASSOCIATED
PRESS
BRIMLEY -- The emerald ash borer was detected in the Upper
Peninsula for the first time earlier this month, state officials
said Monday.
The voracious invader was found during a survey of ash trees in
Brimley State Park, in Chippewa County along the Lake Superior
shoreline.
Michigan Agriculture Director Mitch Irwin said it "appears to be
an isolated infestation, and we are responding quickly and
aggressively to eradicate it."
The emerald ash borer is an aggressive beetle native to Asia that
was discovered in southeastern Michigan in 2002. It is blamed for
killing or damaging about 15 million ash trees in the Lower
Peninsula.
Officials banned transport of non-coniferous firewood and
products made of ash wood into the Upper Peninsula in hopes of
keeping the ash borer out. A checkpoint was established in May just
north of the Mackinac Bridge.
Survey crews with the Department of Agriculture, the Department
of Natural Resources, Michigan Tech University and the U.S. Forest
Service checked high-risk areas of the Upper Peninsula this summer
for signs of the ash borer. Among the locations surveyed were
campgrounds, boat launches and lake associations with high tourist
traffic.
Two ash borer larvae were found in trees being used to detect it
in Brimley State Park. Detection trees have a ring of bark removed
from the trunk to cause stress and attract ash borers that may be in
the area. Research shows the pest is more likely to lay eggs on
stressed trees.
Officials will remove all ash trees within a half-mile of the
infestation, DNR Director Rebecca Humphries said.
"We must protect our forests from the immediate threat ... while
managing these resources long-term," she said.
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