Moving firewood is restricted as a precaution
An invasive insect that would fit on a penny, is destroying ash trees, and it's coming closer to Central New York.
The Emerald Ash Borer is already in the Rochester area, and it's also been found to the east, in the Hudson Valley. It kills ash trees by burrowing in them, and gutting them in as little as two to four years.
Diane Carlton, with the Department of Environmental Conservation in Syracuse, says the half-inch long, fluorescent green bug cannot travel far on its own, but is apparently being spread by firewood --so there are restrictions on moving logs and firewood more than 50 miles from where they were cut. Cut and stashed ash wood --even more than a year old-- can harbor the beetles' larvae and allow the pest to spread.
However, other groups are preparing for the Emerald Ash Borer to arrive here, including an informal coalition of parks, public works and other agencies that oversee public lands. Bob Ellis, Operations Director for Onondaga County Parks, says
they're in the process of taking stock of how many ash trees might be affected. In Onondaga Lake Park, for example, the ash is the most common tree. Then, they'll devise strategies to deal with the prospects of thousands of dead and dying trees.
'It's a huge economic issue,' says Carlton. 8% of our lumber comes from ash trees--including for baseball bats, and the hardwood in home flooring. Right now, there's no protection from the insect, and one strategy is to cut trees before they're riddled by the borer, to save the lumber, once the bugs are discovered in an area. It's also an expensive proposition: taking down a tree costs money, and trees on public as well as homeowners' lands will be affected.
Ironically, the ash became a common tree because it was planted en masse after Dutch Elm Disease wiped out that species.Ellis says the US Forest Service is working to preserve the species by raising ash seedlings that will be protected from the insect, so that they can be spread after the beetle is gone.
The USDA has several publications for more information. www.emeraldashborer.info is a good start, also check www.aphis.usda.gov
