Emerald Ash Borer and Yggrasil   Steve Galehouse
  Mar 08, 2007 10:08 PST 

The World Ash must be weeping for her siblings and cousins here in North
America, with the emerald ash borer continuing its march across the
Midwest. Ohio has an estimated 3.8 BILLION ash trees among five native
species, all of which are expected to meet their demise within a decade
or two. Around a quarter of the state is now under quarantine, and
communities in my area have begun pro-actively removing ash trees on
tree lawns and public grounds in anticipation of the pest.

This exotic pest, a close relative of bronze birch borer, will
dramatically change the composition of the woodlands around here; I
would think to a greater degree than chestnut blight or Dutch elm
disease since a whole genus is involved. I’m somewhat surprised there
haven’t been more extensive discussions about the pest on the ENTS
forum.

Steve Galehouse


http://www.newcamp.org 
RE: Yggrasil and EAB   Will Blozan
  Mar 08, 2007 11:42 PST 

Steve,

Are proactive insecticide treatments no being considered in the urban
landscape? Why would someone remove a tree when it could be saved for far
less cost?

Will
RE: Yggrasil and EAB   Steve Galehouse
  Mar 08, 2007 12:06 PST 

Will-

This link gives the Ohio Dept. of Agriculture's official position on
EAB, which is basically eradicate ashes in the infested area to slow the
spread:

http://www.ohioagriculture.gov/eab/plnt-eab-response.stm

It might be feasible to treat individual trees in private landscapes,
but insecticide applications on public or municipal land in residential
areas is either too costly or controversial. The related bronze birch
borer was very difficult to control, which explains the current
popularity of of the resistant river birch and its cultivars.

Steve
RE: Yggrasil and EAB   Will Blozan
  Mar 08, 2007 12:33 PST 

Steve,

I know that stem injection of imidacloprid works to protect ash trees from
EAB. Do you know if soil injections applied proactively would protect the
trees from infestation? If so, cost would be an irrelevant argument when
compared to the expense of removal. However, some ash stands in persistently
wet areas may not be able to be treated this way.

BTW, the Great Smoky Mountains national Park is already submitting requests
for funding to map ash forests and come up with a management plan for the
eventual arrival of EAB. Ironically, many visitors to the park come from
Michigan and Ohio (as evidenced by staring at their license plates while
they drive 20 miles an hour...) but the NPS has NO restrictions on bringing
firewood into the park. Ash logs have been identified in tourist "stashes"
of campfire wood.

Seriously though, who can confidently say that removal of these trees will
slow the spread? It is a flying insect, and who knows if it hasn't already
breached the containment zone years before? The recent EAB finds in Maryland
are believed to have been established 3-4 years ago. Where did they come
from?

Will
Re: Yggrasil and EAB   Fores-@aol.com
  Mar 08, 2007 13:46 PST 
Will:

There are quarantines in place in lots of OH and MI but there is no way to
protect ash from idiots who are trying to save a few bucks by bringing their
firewood from home.

Russ
RE: EAB and imidacloprid   Brandon Gallagher
  Mar 08, 2007 14:23 PST 

Our protocol for protecting ash preventatively ONLY recommends soil
applied imidacloprid. Check out the report at
http://www.emeraldashborer.info/files/bulletin.pdf for data on soil
injection vs. trunk injection. Our philosophy is "don't wound a tree
unless you have to" and preventative EAB treatments do not require
invasive injections. We have developed this protocol with researchers
from Mich. State and Ohio State.

For those in the IL area we are holding a tree health workshop in Tinley
Park (March 29) and in Skokie, IL (March 30) that features a section on
EAB protocols and management. I can send a flyer to anyone who is in
this, just let me know.

Brandon Gallagher Watson
Technical Support
ISA Certified Arborist MN-4086A

Rainbow Treecare Scientific Advancements
RE: Yggrasil and EAB, Will Steve   wad-@comcast.net
  Mar 08, 2007 14:31 PST 
Will, Steve

The other day I went to a lecture by Dr. Mike Raupp from the university of Maryland. He said that EAB in Md was traced to nursery stock shipped out of the containment zone illegally. Even though they accounted for all but two of the ash trees shipped in, and cut down every ash tree within a certain distance of the infestation, EAB is still in Md.

I personally think it is stupid to cut down all of the ash trees because a bug might kill them. Either way you have no ash trees. Well at least with EAB you might have some.

Dr Raupp also said that they chip the trees to 1" chips and compost them. A grub could easily survive in one cubic inch of wood. Also no chipper I know of chips anything into consistent one inch pieces.

In NY the long horned beetle made it's way to Manhattan via the tree removal companies that cut down infected maples and took the waste back to their yards on the island.

It is a terrible waste of money for something that can't be stopped.

Scott
RE: Yggrasil and EAB   Steve Galehouse
  Mar 08, 2007 14:48 PST 

Will-

I know if I had an ash in my yard, I would apply Merit to protect it,
but I would think it would have to be applied on a yearly
basis(expensive), which might be why eradication is the suggested
control.

The pest is spreading along highway corridors, either in wood products
or simply "hitching a ride". I think part of the problem is that the
general public doesn't know what an ash is, other than base-ball bats
are made from it. If oaks or maples were threatened, there would likely
be much more public interest and perhaps a greater push for treatment
rather than removal.

Steve
RE: Yggrasil and EAB   Paul Jost
  Mar 08, 2007 18:11 PST 

Here in Wisconsin, I occasionally see firewood company trucks heading
across the border into Illinois and see some returning full of ash and
other logs. Illinois has a quarantine in areas of northeastern Illinois
with EAB, but I wonder how well it is enforced. The only action that
Wisconsin has taken is to prohibit campers from bringing firewood with
them into state parks and forests. I also think that there are issues
with federal interstate commerce laws that disallow restrictions of
cargo of interstate traffic through states if it the cargo is legal in
the originating and destination states. To really cover the bases,
federal action is required.

Also, in the past, it was mentioned that TNC was inactive in response to
invasives, including adelgids, within their lands. I found it amusing
that they market themselves to the contrary with an elaborate web site:

http://www.nature.org/initiatives/invasivespecies/

TNC has another website for invasives, too:
http://tncweeds.ucdavis.edu/index.html


Paul Jost
RE: EAB and imidacloprid   Will Blozan
  Mar 08, 2007 19:19 PST 

Thanks for the info, Brandon. Great news!

Will
RE: Yggrasil and EAB   Will Blozan
  Mar 08, 2007 20:26 PST 

Steve,

Same here. BTW, using generics is much cheaper than Merit, and the cost
would be way, way, way less than removal. If you HAVE to spend money either
way (like hemlock woolly adelgid) why pay high $$ for removal and loose your
tree, property value and wildlife/environmental benefits?

It's a no-brainer to me!

Will
RE: Yggrasil and EAB, Will Steve   Will Blozan
  Mar 08, 2007 20:28 PST 
Scott well said!



I seriously wish the HWA would get the same MILLIONS of dollars for
preservation that was spent by the Bushman to "eradicate" EAB. Both are lost
causes to try to stop, so why not use the vast resources of money to
preserve some relic groves for the future? The Smokies STRUGGLES to get
$5-800K to preserve the hemlock forests in the Smokies annually. I guarantee
that if hemlock was a commercially valuable hardwood like ash things would
be different.



Will
RE: Yggrasil and EAB   Robert Leverett
  Mar 09, 2007 05:14 PST 

Steve,

To us in New England. the Emerald Ash Borer is like a dark cloud on
the horizon. We know it is coming and some people are thinking about it,
but short of cutting down ash trees, there is no clear direction that we
see for us to take.

Bob
Re: Yggrasil and EAB   Jess Riddle
  Mar 10, 2007 15:58 PST 

Ents,

While the general situation with emerald ash borer is horrific, the
National Park Service in the Smokies is taking what steps they can to
prepare for the invasion. In addition to currently assessing the
distribution of ash in the park, they have banned the import of
firewood from infested regions. The following notice was taken
directly from the park's camping webpage: Quarantine Notice:
"Firewood from the states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, New
Jersey and New York can not be brought into the national park. The
United States Department of Agriculture has quarantined firewood from
these states to prevent the spread of highly destructive insects that
may be living in the wood."

It also looks like at least a few people are catching onto the
potential of preemptive insecticidal treatments as an alternative to
removal: http://esa.confex.com/esa/2006/techprogram/paper_25516.htm

Then again, here's an article, apparently from 2004, with some general
background information on EAB, and an explanation of why not to treat
with insecticides:
http://hancock.osu.edu/hort/mgpdf/hermsbeginofend.pdf. Their argument
goes: the eradication effort will cut not only infested trees, but
also adjacent trees since they may actually be infested but not yet
manifesting symptoms. Hence, if you treat your ash and a nearby tree
eventually becomes infested, the eradication effort will lead to both
trees being destroyed, so insecticidal treat won't save your tree.
Great situation, huh? If the borer doesn't kill your tree, the
eradication effort will. Of course, the goal is to save the far
larger population of trees not near infested area, but the faith
displayed in the eradication effort and the lack of consideration of
alternatives seems a risky position with more support from optimism
than precedence.

Jess Riddle