AUGUSTA – Officials at the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry (DACF) report that emerald ash borer (EAB) has been found in Maine. Despite an aggressive search for at least a decade, the destructive forest insect from Asia had not been detected in Maine previously. It has killed hundreds of millions of ash trees in thirty-four states throughout the country. The estimated commercial (unprocessed) value of Maine ash trees is approximately $320 million. United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) officials with the Animal and Plant Health and Inspection Service (APHIS) have confirmed the identification of a pre-pupa found in Madawaska, Maine. The discovery was made by a joint DACF – U.S. Forest Service (USFS) team on May 22, 2018. The team had responded following the discovery of EAB in Edmundston, New Brunswick, just across the river from Madawaska.


Discovery Anticipated

The Maine DACF has long anticipated the arrival of EAB and the inevitable destruction that follows. Public outreach has been conducted for fifteen (15) years. Experts have long believed that the insect has been present Maine but undetected despite an aggressive effort to find it. Its discovery in Quebec, Vermont and New Hampshire further added to the growing concern.

Steps Taken To Locate EAB (EAB Surveillance in Maine)

Current Maine Response Status

State and federal officials are meeting to implement a statewide emergency-response plan. To determine the extent of the infestation, a multi-agency survey effort has been launched including personnel from the Maine DACF, APHIS and USFS.As recently as April 26, officials conducted a multi-agency tabletop meeting to create an emergency plan for responding to EAB’s eventual discovery and implement a planned response. That is now underway.Additional information will be released as more is learned from teams in the field and as data is processed.

Emerald Ash Borer (EAB)

Emerald ash borer was first discovered in the Detroit, Michigan area in 2002, though it is believed to have arrived in the 1990s. The beetle is about one half an inch and metallic green. Its larva tunnels through the wood just under the bark of ash trees and can kill even healthy trees in three-to-five years. Hundreds of millions of trees across the country have been killed.Ash trees comprise 4 percent of Maine’s hardwood forest and are also an important street tree. Emerald ash borer threatens all species of ash trees (except mountain ash) and could have significant ecological and economic impacts. There are no practical means to control EAB in forested areas, though pesticide treatments can protect individual trees.Slowing the spread of EAB is crucial. An emerald ash borer generally moves only about one half-mile on its own in a year, but can move hundreds of miles in a single day within a piece of infested firewood.


Caution Regarding Firewood

Emerald ash borer is not the only threat to our forests that can move in the seemingly benign firewood brought to camp. Numerous other insects and diseases can also hitchhike in firewood. Spread the word: use local firewood. If you have friends or family planning to visit Maine, make sure they are aware of the state and federal rules that ban movement of untreated firewood Sources of treated or local firewood can be found online at firewood scout


http://www.maine.gov/dacf/mfs/forest...firewood.shtml

http://firewoodscout.org/s/ME

http://www.maine.gov/dacf/php/caps/EAB/index.shtml

http://www.emeraldashborer.info/

Unfortunately there isn't anything to be done about it. It's going to come through, it's going to kill all the Ash trees, The End. Quarantines, firewood bans, none of that is going to matter.

They (were) very popular for landscaping in parks, city streets & residential areas. They will all go VERY quickly once it starts. There are chemical treatments that can be applied though it costs a little more than many will want to spend and has to be applied yearly. Forever. Maybe $150 to $200 a year for a medium sized tree.

If you have a particular tree you want to save, don't wait. Start the applications early, as once the dieback starts whole limbs are killed off and the tree will be so disfigured after pruning it may not be worth saving. Don't wait to see the signs of beetle infestation or plant stress before starting treatments, by then it's too late. What happened here in my hometown, is everybody knew that it was coming for years though nobody ever did anything. When landscape trees started actually dying and it became a reality, then everybody decided it was a huge problem. Oops. The city forestry crews had to take them all down, thousands of them, beforehand as it is not cost effective nor practical to apply chemical treatments and they can't just wait around for them to die or become diseased; dead or dying trees pose a hazard and a potential legal liability because of falling limbs. The logistics for removing so many trees in a short period of time are impressive.

Around here ya couldn't throw a rock without hitting a Green Ash, the best thing to do if you have an Ash tree on your property and don't anticipate trying to save it, beat the rush and and have it removed now. It's tough to do but it's the best way. Then get something else planted as quickly as possible. The sooner another tree gets planted the sooner it will grow into a mature shadetree. The Ash trees lost here were all planted about 40 - 50 years ago to replace the American Elms lost to Dutch Elm disease. That was another bad deal.

Elms were really cool trees and would grow in a vase shape, that would make a kind of green interlocking "tunnel" when planted on both sides of the street. But they were way overplanted. When all of them died at once there were hardly any trees left in many urban and residential areas. In response to this the recommendation by foresters was to plant several different species to try and prevent a repeat. Norway Maples, Hackberry, Red Oak, Green Ash, and a few others were selected for their hardiness and suitability for landscape use.

Turns out there really aren't all that many tree species that truly work well in residential or landscape situtations. Soil compaction, road salt and pollution cause some problems with certain tree species, some species grow fast but are weak limbed, sort of ratty looking and shed heavily during ice storms. Basically big weeds. Quick shade is nice but can be very problematic to the homeowner.

Some tree species should probably never be planted near homes, as they have extremely thirsty roots that will ruin tile drainage and sewer pipes, water mains, or buckle sidewalks etc. $$$ White Ash is a beautiful tree, with a purple fall color. Good hard wood (baseball bats); Green Ash is a little bit different, still a hard wood but grows quite a bit faster. Not as stately looking. If they are pruned up good some cultivars looked OK. I always liked Burr Oak, but they take forever to grow and don't like compacted soil and subject to Oak Wilt.