Wood Burned at Moran, Quarantine in Townships
Count of EAB Infected Trees Reaches 14
By Paul Gingras

Tree material infected with the emerald ash borer is burned Thursday, December 6, on Chris and Dawn Brown's property on Martin Road near Moran. Pictured is John Diddams, regulatory inspector for the Michigan Department of Agriculture. Inspectors burned most infected wood found since October in the 55-square-mile quarantine area. Infected wood samples have been sent to Michigan State University and Michigan Technological University for study. The search for infected trees continues.

"Of the 14 infected trees that we found, 11 are right here," said John Diddams of the Michigan Department of Agriculture, as he set fire to a pile of ash wood infected with the voracious emerald ash borer (EAB) Thursday, December 6. The modest amount of burning material piled on Martin Road near Moran represented the total of EAB-infected wood gathered locally, following discovery of the first infected tree nearby October 5.

The discovery of the insect in Moran in early October, and near St. Ignace at the end of the month, alarmed conservation officials. EAB, an invasive Asian insect, has destroyed thousands of ash trees throughout the Midwest and Canada.

This map designates the emerald ash borer quarantine area in Mackinac County. Highlighted in gray, the quarantine area includes portions of Brevort, Moran, and St. Ignace townships. (Map courtesy of Michigan Department of Agriculture)

Concerned that the beetle is spreading in the Upper Peninsula and threatening valuable ash trees used the nursery, landscaping, and timber industries, the state imposed a quarantine near Moran beginning October 10. No hardwood can be moved out of the area.

The Michigan Department of Agriculture expects to conclude the first phase of its Moran-based inspection this week, and the quarantine is to be expanded to the St. Ignace area shortly, said MDA representative Jim Bowes. Before expanding the quarantine, he said, the department is waiting to finish checking all trees in the Upper Peninsula that were previously prepared for EAB testing. The trees are checked by cutting them down, peeling the bark, and searching for EAB larvae.

Sue Bagley, site leader for the eradication of the Emerald Ash Borer in Moran and St. Ignace, poses Thursday, December 6, at the Brevort Township Community Center holding a slice of the largest ash tree cut down in the 55-square-mile Moran quarantine area. The basement of the community center has become a makeshift headquarters for the Michigan Department of Agriculture. There has been a flurry of activity at the center in recent weeks, as inspectors survey the area for ash trees infected with the invasive insect, which poses a threat to ash trees throughout the region.

There may be more infected trees in the Moran area, Mr. Diddams said, but for now, the MDA's method is to enforce the law against moving hardwood out of the area and to analyze one ash tree every 2.5 acres, covering a grid that spans portions of three townships in Mackinac County.

Infected wood is sent away for study, or burned. Trees cut down by the MDA that prove not to be infested are returned to the areas where they were found.

This week, more inspectors have joined the effort, forming seven teams. In recent weeks, the detection effort that began near Moran included five teams of two inspectors each who combed landscapes as varied as open farm fields to cedar forests so dense that inspectors armed themselves with global positioning systems and compasses.

Efforts are ongoing to detect trees infected with the insects near St. Ignace. St. Ignace is not part of the 55-square-mile quarantine area, which includes a large portion of Brevort Township, in the vicinity of Moran; a smaller portion of Moran Township, in the vicinity of Round Lake Road, and a slice of St. Ignace Township, in the vicinity of Setago, Charles-Moran, and Gorman roads.

Workers with the Department of Agriculture identify ash trees, mark them, and leave them standing until research groups ask for trees with specific characteristics. Prior to cutting them down, trees thought to be infested are tagged with orange warning signs that signal the public not to cut them down or move the wood, Mr. Diddams told The St. Ignace News.

This method is being used in the Mackinac County quarantine area because snowfall could hide infected logs left on the ground and prevent MDA inspectors from returning to gather them for study or disposal, said site supervisor Sue Bagley.

"We are trusting the public" to respect the signs, Mr. Diddams said.

Although hardwood can be brought into the quarantine zone, none can leave it, under penalty of law. Hardwoods include all broadleaved

trees, notably the imperiled

black ash. The quarantine excludes conifers, such as pine, cedar, spruce, and tamarack trees.

People who need to move noninfected hardwood out of the area can do so only with the permission of a regional inspector, who can examine the wood and write a compliance agreement, Miss Bagley said.

Elsewhere in the U.P., hardwood can be moved freely, she added.

Given the potential for humans to spread the beetle via moving firewood, the quarantine includes fines and possible jail time for anyone who moves hardwood out of the restricted zone. Penalties for doing so were substantially increased in 2005. They range from a $1,000 fine with no jail time, for unknowingly moving hardwood out of the quarantined zone, to a $250,000 fine and 10 years in jail, for moving infected wood, with the goal of causing an infestation in another area, Mr. Bowes said.

All cases are decided in county courts, he added. Prior to the penalty increase, the maximum fine for moving firewood out of a quarantined zone was $100.

An anomaly has surfaced regarding infected trees found in Mackinac County, Miss Bagley said. Trees exhibiting typical signs of stress associated with EAB have turned out to be free of the beetle, while some trees that were cut down and did not exhibit warning signs had infestations, she said.

Infected trees in the area varied from light infestations, which revealed the presence of larva, to trees with exit holes made by fully mature beetles, Mr. Diddams said. Most trees were lightly infected.

Infected ash trees in Mackinac County are significantly smaller for their ages compared to those found in Lower Michigan. The difference is caused by the rigors of winter, the shorter growing season, and droughts, Miss Bagley said.

Anyone who needs to move uninfected hardwood out of the quarantine area can call for an MDA inspection at (517) 373- 1087.