EAB Update
Researchers Begin Ash Tree Survey in City
By Ryan Schlehuber

Susan Bagley, Michigan Department of Agriculture site supervisor for the emerald ash borer (EAB) survey in St. Ignace and Moran, holds up a blaze-orange vest, like those that will be worn by about a dozen researchers who will be seeking ash trees within the St. Ignace area, including residential yards, searching for signs of EAB spread. The survey began Tuesday, November 27.

Spotting people wearing blaze orange in St. Ignace during hunting season is nothing out of the ordinary, however, some residents may soon see orange-vested people looking at ash trees in their backyards.

Researchers from the Michigan Department of Agriculture will begin a survey in St. Ignace this week to locate signs of spreading of emerald ash borer (EAB), a foreign beetle that kills ash trees.

EAB was found on one of the detection trees being monitored by researchers in Straits State Park in St. Ignace October 30, only a few weeks after it was also found in Moran, 15 miles to the north. Since then, 13 other detection trees in Moran have been found to be infected.

An example of leaves from an ash tree. Common ash in Michigan includes blue, black, green, and white ash. Ash trees can be easily confused with other trees, such as elm, box elder, mountain ash, walnut, and hickory. (Photograph courtesy of Michigan Department of Agriculture)

The survey is part of the state's eradication process for the Asian beetle, responsible for destroying or damaging 25 million ash trees throughout the Midwest.

Mackinac County's Michigan State University Extension (MSUE) office is working with the Michigan Department of Agriculture (MDA) to provide information for residents.

MDA site supervisor Susan Bagley and her research team of a dozen people began the survey Tuesday, November 27.

Biologists say the beetle moved across the Mackinac Bridge, probably in firewood, and was first discovered in Brimley state Park in 2005.

Entomologists are still gathering information on the beetle and are seeking ways to eradicate it. So far, the only effective way is by removing all ash trees in a half-mile radius from the infected trees. They have determined that a half mile is the farthest an adult ash borer will travel. Federal funding has not been secured to remove the trees, however, and available funding will be a major factor in determining how much work can be done, researchers told citizens at a public meeting in St. Ignace November 19.

The insect-infested tree in the state park now serves as the centerpoint to find out how many more trees may be infested. Researchers will fan out from there and randomly sample ash trees at distances up to one mile away, including those on public and private property.

"You will see MDA employees wearing hunter orange vests with 'Michigan Department of Agriculture' on the back of their vests, walking around looking at ash trees," said Jim Bowes, MDA spokesman. "They will have identification on them and on the front of their vests. We will knock on doors first, as much as we can, to inform residents, but there may be times we will be approaching from the back of someone's property. Our intention, however, is to notify people as much as we can of our presence."

Surveyors will be equipped with Global Positioning Systems (GPS) mapping devices, allowing them to check aerial maps of St. Ignace to locate ash trees.

"They will be looking at ash trees that look the most stressed and are more out in the open," said Mr. Bowes, explaining that stressed trees in the open are the most vulnerable to EAB.

Surveyors will choose a tree, cut it down, and prepare samples to be studied. If a tree is in someone's yard as a landscape design element, surveyors will choose the next likely tree EAB would be attracted to in that area, however, said Mr. Bowes, if a tree shows signs of EAB infestation, it will have to come down.

"We'll ask the resident first if it is okay to cut down a landscape tree, however, if there are signs and symptoms of EAB, we'll have to insist it come down," said Mr. Bowes.

If the downed tree is found to be negative for EAB, surveyors will ask residents if they want to keep it for firewood or if they would like it removed.

If another positive tree is found, the research grid would then extend another half-mile in radius. The survey in Moran, for instance, has extended from a half mile to three miles, said Mr. Bowes.

What Residents Can Do

Spotting an EAB-infested ash tree can be difficult, said Mr. Bowes. Obvious signs include a lack of leaf coverage, wilting of the tree's crown on top, or new shoots from the tree sprouting out from the base. Unfortunately, by the time these signs appear, said Mr. Bowes, the tree is fatally wounded by the insect larvae, which burrows underneath an ash tree's bark, creating S-shaped galleries that eventually cut off water supply to the tree, suffocating it.

Woodpeckers can be another sign of EAB infestation.

"Woodpeckers are known to be able to smell out EAB larvae in an ash tree," said Mr. Bowes. "If you see woodpeckers more frequently in the area, it may be a sign that EAB is in the area."

For now, Mr. Bowes said the most effective way residents can help eradicate EAB from the area is by not moving firewood and monitoring visitors, more specifically, campers or hunters, who may have brought firewood with them from the Lower Peninsula.

"We have to do everything we can not to move firewood, even from Moran, and especially from the Lower Peninsula," Mr. Bowes said. "Be aware of quarantine restrictions."

Moving firewood from quarantine areas is against the law, said Mr. Bowes, and citations can carry a minimum fine of $1,000.

"Many times, we may just confiscate the firewood or wood products from that person, but they can be fined, and they have," Mr. Bowes warned.

Often, travelers are unaware of the restrictions, in which case a warning is given to them. When a person or a commercial hauler knowingly violates the quarantine regulations, however, stricter penalties may be enforced, said Mr. Bowes.

"We had one commercial firm from the Lower Peninsula which brought a truck over the Mackinac Bridge with a whole load of lumber, heading to Wisconsin," said Mr. Bowes. "The firm was under a compliance agreement, too."

Mr. Bowes said residents can assist the MDA by notifying them about suspect wood or trees.

"We respond to every call because it is a serious case," said Mr. Bowes. "If a resident sees someone with wood they think was taken from Moran or the Lower Peninsula, or if they see signs of EAB on certain ash trees, they can call us and we'll check into it."

Call (866) 322-4512 or MSUE at 643-7307 to report possible EAB signs or illegal movement of wood.