Judy Orriss, who lives near Straits State Park in St. Ignace, discusses moving firewood in Mackinac County with Jim Bowes of the Michigan Department of Agriculture, at a seminar at Little Bear East Arena Wednesday, April 9. The ability to move firewood is a concern for her family, she said. The county is "in a quarantine within a quarantine" Mr. Bowes said. No firewood can be moved from Mackinac County into other areas of the Upper Peninsula. Destroying ash trees to prevent the spread of the emerald ash borer (EAB) hasn't worked well in most states, researchers say, so biologists want to study the light infestation in the St. Ignace area to learn how better to detect and eradicate the insect. The Chinese beetle threatens to destroy ash trees throughout the United States.

State and federal officials met for a public forum at Little Bear East Wednesday, April 9, to discuss upcoming survey plans, answer questions, and to explain restrictions on transporting firewood.

Sticky traps to lure the insects will be used here this summer, and workers will reduce the amount of "food" available to the insect. A new chemical that can be injected into ash trees, as well as wasps that prey on EAB, might eventually be introduced here, too.

The Michigan Department of Agriculture (MDA) will be in the area through mid-June, working with landowners to survey trees, said Bob Heyd of the Department of Natural Resources, a speaker at the seminar.

To track the movement of the ash borer, Moran, Brevort, and St. Ignace townships will witness the most intensive insect survey in Michigan history. To slow its movement, state and federal agencies will reduce the amount of material it feeds on.

They are also considering introducing parasitic Chinese wasps to kill the beetle, once the parasites have been proven effective downstate. If the infestations worsen in the U.P., regulators are considering allowing use of a new chemical to be injected into ash trees. It has been proven to save trees with light infestations and prevent infestations in unaffected trees.

In some areas, state and federal agencies also seek to replace trees that were destroyed by surveying and are seeking local administrators for the program.

By May, MDA will have identified which trees it plans to survey. It will continue the traditional method of wounding trees to stress them, which will attract the ash borers.

MDA will initiate widespread use of large, sticky insect traps hung from ash trees. They consist of 14-inch by 24-inch purple panels covered with a sticky substance to trap ash borers. In the panels will be Manuka oil, which attracts the bugs. The traps are safe and non-toxic. The worst effect of touching one would be to get sticky hands, officials said. If a trap is found on the ground, residents should follow directions on signs stapled to trees with traps. The signs explain who to call.

MDAhas defined a four mile by five mile area to survey. It's divided into rings, and the first is 1.5- miles wide. The first infected ash tree found in Moran is at the center.

The ring is divided into a grids of 40-acre squares. In each square, workers will establish one damaged detection tree and place one purple trap. Asecond ring, one mile in width, surrounds the first. It will be divided into 160-acre squares, with one detection tree and one trap per square mile. A third ring, three miles in width, will be divided into 640-acre squares, with one detection tree and one trap per square.

"This will be the most intense survey we have ever conducted," said John Bedford of MDA. "The reason we are doing this is that we need to keep a look at where this insect is, make sure that it is only in this area.

Added Mr. Heyd: "We hope and think [this effort] will cover all known EAB infestations in the area, making sure we know what is going on within the area is working, that EAB is not spreading, and that we are reducing the population."

Wilderness areas such as the Carp River scenic corridor will not be considered for detection trees, but artificial traps will be used there.

There will be about 590 detection trees and 400 panel traps total, he said.

At the public meeting, details were explained about the quarantine on moving wood in the county.

No material containing ash borers can be moved, and no living ash trees can be sold or moved in Michigan, since it is difficult, sometimes impossible, to tell if living trees contain EAB, Mr. Heyd said.

With MDA approval, full ash trees, ash logs with bark, untreated ash lumber with bark, and ash limbs can be moved.

Hardwood firewood is defined as any hardwood - not only ash - cut smaller than four feet in length. All of it is regulated. Some movement of firewood is allowed within the county, as long as it's not moved from a high risk area to a lower risk area.

The most severely infested areas, Level I, are in southeast lower Michigan. Areas less severely infested, Level II, include the rest of lower Michigan as well as Moran, Brevort, St. Ignace townships, the City of St. Ignace, and the Brimley area in the Upper Peninsula. Firewood cannot be moved from those areas to other parts of the county.

Areas that are not infested but are in danger from EAB are Level III. They include the remaining townships of Mackinac County.

In Mackinac County, "We have created a quarantine within a quarantine," said Jim Bowes of the MDA, who also presented at the seminar. He explained that the Level II areas of Mackinac County are surrounded by Level III areas.

Firewood can be moved from low risk areas to high risk areas, but not back, Mr. Heyd said. Firewood within Level II areas can be moved about in that zone, but cannot be moved into Level III areas. No firewood can be moved from Mackinac County into the rest of the U.P.

Although MDA expects voluntary cooperation from the public, police agencies will pull over people in the county they suspect are breaking the rules, and there are strict penalties for ignoring the quarantine.

Since the Lower Peninsula is completely infested, firewood can be moved from the U.P. to Lower Michigan without restriction.

To reduce food for the insect, the MDA encourages private landowners to conduct timber sales. Large ash trees can host the most bugs, and they are often valuable. Mr. Heyd encouraged residents considering timber sales to contact Michelle Walk at the St. Ignace office of Michigan State University Extension to help connect residents with professional foresters.

Money generated from sales can be used to replant trees, he suggested. Ash trees that are not salable in Mackinac County should be used as this year's firewood, rather than maple or other species, he added.

MDA may create "sinks" by damaging several ash trees that are close together, drawing as many ash borers to one spot as possible. The trees are then destroyed.

At least one sink is likely in Brevort Township this summer. More are likely next year, when more EAB have completed life cycles and have affected more trees. As the problem progresses, MDA's strategy is evolving.

The Chinese wasps that kill the emerald ash borer were found in the borer's home range in China, where trees are not being destroyed by the insect, Mr. Heyd said. The wasps are tiny, have very short life spans, and cannot sting human beings.

Two of them feed on EAB larva, and another feeds on EAB eggs. A native wasp that feeds on EAB has been identified in Lower Michigan.

These parasites have been released in the most affected areas of Michigan. They will not be released in the U.P. this summer, but if effective downstate, they may be released in Mackinac County, Mr. Heyd said.

Biological controls of this kind are taken seriously, he added. Already determined safe, they must now be proven effective to justify the expense of a program involving them.

Finally, the MDA revealed a new chemical commercially named Tree-age, which has been developed by Michigan State University and has proven to be 99% effective at eliminating EAB from trees without severe infections, and preventing infections.

Only someone licensed to work with the chemical can apply it. The nearest workers licensed to apply it are in Emmet County.

"It has a lot of promise for yard trees and street trees," Mr. Heyd said. Area residents interested in Tree-age should contact Ms. Walk at MSU Extension.

The chemical, Emamectin Benzoate, was approved by MDA this March. Mr. Heyd did not know the expense of Tree-age.

As the MDA damages trees throughout the survey process this year, grants are available to replace them, in areas like parks, along streets, but not in wood lots.

The goal is to replace the ash trees with a variety of species, to encourage diversity and prevent the mass removal of trees in an area, Mr. Heyd said, noting that Grand Rapids is involved in a $3 million project to remove its large concentrations of ash trees.

Up to $20,000 grants are available to municipalities that can put a tree-replanting plan together, he said.

For more information, contact Michelle Walk at MSU Extension at 643-7307.