Public invited to emerald ash borer information session on August 23rd in Frenchville, ME.
FRENCHVILLE – Officials from the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry’s (DACF) Maine Forest Service (MFS) and Division of Animal and Plant Health, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, and USDA Forest Service will hold an information session in northern Aroostook County following discovery of emerald ash borer (EAB) in Madawaska, Frenchville, and recently, Grand Isle.
The purpose of the public meeting is to provide background information on the insect; an update on the response to the detection of emerald ash borer; and discuss impacts on movement of wood products. More information about emerald ash borer is available on the Department’s webpage: www.maine.gov/eab.
WHAT: Members of the public and the media are encouraged to attend and learn more about the emerald ash borer and impacts of its arrival in Maine.
BACKGROUND
The EAB is a highly destructive, introduced pest of forest and ornamental ash trees (Fraxinus spp.). Since its initial detection in southeastern Michigan near Detroit in the summer of 2002 it has spread rapidly. As of August 2018, it has been found in 35 states, and four Canadian provinces.
Ash trees infested with EAB may die within two to three years. From 2002 to 2018, EAB has killed hundreds of millions of ash trees in infested states and provinces, and has cost municipalities, property owners, nursery operators and forest products industries hundreds of millions of dollars.
In late May 2018, an established EAB infestation was detected in Edmundston, New Brunswick, Canada. Subsequent surveys in Maine detected lightly-infested ash trees in Madawaska adjacent to the Frenchville town line. In early August EAB was found on purple traps in the town of Grand Isle, ME. The MFS implemented a stop movement order on ash from the towns of Frenchville, Grand Isle and Madawaska on August 10th, 2018.
Ash trees comprise four percent of Maine’s hardwood forest, are a valuable timber species, and are also an important street tree. EAB threatens all species of ash trees (but not mountain-ash) and could have significant ecological and economic impacts on the state. There are no practical means to control EAB in forested areas, though pesticide treatments can protect individual trees.
STAY INFORMED
Parties interested in receiving updates regarding EAB in Maine can subscribe to the Department’s electronic bulletin list “Emerald Ash Borer (EAB).” Subscriptions are available through e-mail or text message (SMS): https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/MEDACF/subscriber/new
Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry Contacts:
