EAB found in two NY counties
27 Jul, 2010 LM Direct!
ALBANY, NY — New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Pete Grannis and state Agriculture Commissioner Patrick Hooker announced the recent discovery of the emerald ash borer (EAB) on private properties in the town of Bath, Steuben County, and town of Saugerties, Ulster County. The EAB is a small but destructive beetle that infests and kills North American ash tree species, including green, white, black and blue ash.
The first detection of EAB in New York was in the town of Randolph, Cattaraugus County, in June 2009 (http://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/56774.html). Since the Randolph find, state and federal officials have implemented an extensive monitoring effort that includes the deployment of approximately 7,500 EAB purple traps in ash trees in high risk locations including major transportation corridors.
The Steuben County discovery occurred on July 12 when a state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) staff member inspected one of the state’s EAB purple traps. The traps are sticky and contain a chemical lure that attracts adult EAB. The detection was confirmed this week by Cornell University. The Ulster County discovery occurred on July 15 after USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) staff member check of a federally-deployed EAB trap and confirmed by USDA APHIS. Each EAB trap had one confirmed EAB specimen.
“DEC, the landowners, and our federal, state and local partners will work closely to study the extent of EAB’s presence in the newly confirmed area and take the appropriate steps to protect the state’s ash resources," Grannis said. "We have reason to believe that the movement of EAB to these new areas was due to the movement of firewood, and as summer is now in full swing, we again remind campers throughout the state that they, too, can help prevent the spread of harmful invasives by not hauling firewood to campgrounds and instead buying firewood locally.”
Hooker agreed. “As we continue to find EAB, it is important for us all to recognize the challenges we face from this pest and other invasive species," he said. "We are currently working to contain EAB; however, in spite of our best efforts, science and some models suggest that EAB is nearly impossible to contain and will likely spread into other areas of the state in the next several years. The Department of Agriculture and Markets is administering a quarantine designed to slow the spread of this pest. Residents can assist the state by being aware of how to identify and report unusual bugs.”
New York has more than 900 million ash trees, representing about 7% of all trees in the state, and all are at risk. This is just the latest in a series of terrestrial and aquatic invasive species detections across New York State, including the Asian longhorned beetle, Sirex woodwasp, didymo, zebra mussels, and Eurasian water milfoil. They have prompted the state to strengthen regulations, increase educational outreach, and encourage ways of limiting the unintentional spread of these potentially devastating pests throughout the state.
In 2008, New York adopted regulations that ban untreated firewood from entering the state and restricts intrastate movement of untreated firewood to no more than a 50-mile radius from its source (http://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/28722.html). This was done as a precaution against the introduction and spread of EAB and other invasive species because of the documented risk of transmission by moving firewood. DEC’s firewood regulations prohibiting out-of-state transport of untreated firewood and intra-state movement of untreated firewood more than 50 miles remain in effect and are extremely important tools. After more than three years of outreach and education efforts about the risks of moving firewood and the state’s regulation, DEC is increasing its enforcement efforts to prevent the movement of untreated firewood into and around New York.
“We are working in cooperation with the state to detect, control and prevent the human-assisted spread of this pest," said Yvonne DeMarino, state plant health director for USDA APHIS. "This is a huge undertaking, and therefore we also need the support and cooperation of every New Yorker to promise not to move firewood.”
New York State has been actively surveying for EAB since 2003, inspecting declining ash trees and setting detection tools statewide.
THE EMERALD ASH BORER
The EAB has metallic green wing covers and a coppery red or purple abdomen; it is small enough to fit easily on a penny. Damage is caused by the larvae, which feed in tunnels called galleries in the phloem just below the bark. The serpentine galleries disrupt water and nutrient transport, causing branches, and eventually the entire tree, to die. Adult beetles leave distinctive D-shaped exit holes in the outer bark of the branches and the trunk. Other signs of infestation include tree canopy dieback, yellowing, extensive sprouting from the roots and trunk (called "epicormic shoots"). Infested trees may also exhibit woodpecker damage from larvae extraction.
Since its discovery in southeastern Michigan in 2002, the EAB is responsible for the death and decline of tens of millions of ash trees in the U.S. Today the beetle has been detected in 14 states and two neighboring Canadian provinces. The primary way this insect spreads is when firewood and wood products are moved from one place to another. Many of New York State’s forests and parklands are high-risk areas because of firewood movement.
For more information, visit the following web pages: www.aphis.usda.gov/plant_health/plant_pest_info/emerald_ash_b/index.shtml
http://www.agmkt.state.ny.us/CAPS/pdf/Emerald%20Ash%20Borer%20Poster.pdf
http://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/7253.html
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