An infestation of the ash-treekilling beetle Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) was found in Schoolcraft County in the Upper Peninsula October 30, the first time the insect had been found there.

The infestation was discovered by Michigan Department of Agriculture staff while inspecting ash trees adjacent to the most recent EAB find in Delta County. The Schoolcraft County infestation is in Inwood Township near the Village of Cooks, south of US-2.

Delta and Schoolcraft counties have been added to the list of quarantined areas where moving firewood is prohibited.

The other known infestations in the U.P. are in Mackinac and Houghton counties. An infestation at Brimley in Chippewa County has been eradicated by removing all ash in the area, the department has reported. In 2005, the infestation at Brimley State Park marked the first time the insect had been found in the U.P.

The Emerald Ash Borer quarantine for the Lower Peninsula was revised Monday, November 10, to consolidate all 68 counties of the peninsula into one quarantine level, meaning travelers are able to freely move firewood within the Lower Peninsula, but the department is still urging people not to do so, to avoid moving several other invasive insects that include the Asian longhorned beetle and the Sirex woodwasp.

Travelers are asked to use only local sources of firewood, burn all they buy, and not to take any unused firewood along to their nexxt destination.

"Campers and hunters are reminded to purchase firewood locally," said Ron Olson, Parks and Recreation chief for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. "Bringing ash firewood onto state forests, state parks, recreation areas, and state forest campgrounds violates state land use rules."

The Lower Peninsula had previously been divided into two quarantine levels.

Hardwood firewood is still prohibited from leaving the Lower Peninsula because it is the leading cause of spreading EAB and other invasive insects.

"Quarantine violators can still face fines and jail time," said Ken Rauscher, the director of the Pesticide and Plant Pest Management Division at the Department of Agriculture. "The inspection station at the Mackinac Bridge remains in place and will continue to prevent hardwood firewood and other regulated ash material from entering the U.P."

People found violating the state's quarantine may be fined from $1,000 to $25,000 and may be sentenced to jail time of up to five years.

First discovered in 2002, the borer is responsible for killing or damaging roughly 35 million ash trees in Michigan's Lower Peninsula.