It was only a matter of time.
An Emerald Ash Borer was recently found in the Albany, NY, area, just 50 miles from the Finch Paper mill. This marks the 20th New York county to be invaded, and infestation throughout the northeast is likely, as once the pest is introduced, it is nearly impossible to remove.
This troublesome bright green beetle arrived in Detroit on cargo shipments from China just a decade ago. Now:
- It has spread to 14 states and two Canadian provinces;
- It threatens 900 million New York ash trees, or 7% of the state’s forests;
- Tens of millions of ash trees have been lost in Michigan,
with millions more destroyed in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Ontario, Pennsylvania, Quebec, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.
- The damage the pest is doing throughout the forest ecosystem and economy is substantial.
So what can be done?
The Emerald Ash Borer has no native natural enemies in North America, so federal wildlife officials are testing the use of two kinds of wasps from China that feed on the borers.
Government agencies have also tried fighting the invasion by imposing strict requirements on how imported goods can be shipped. But with the volume of international trade today, it is inevitable that pests will continue to hitchhike undetected all the way to our forests. This is one of the prices we pay for wanting less-expensive imported goods in our global economy.
Quarantines on the domestic transportation of wood (for example, moving firewood from region to region) can help slow the spread of the pest and give landowners in uninfected regions time to harvest their ash trees if they wish before the pest arrives But, again, this is slowing — not stopping — the spread.
I’m afraid the best we can do at this point is catch the insect early through better public awareness, which I’m hoping to help at least in small part with this blog post and an earlier entry on this same topic. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation also offers a wealth of information on its website, including photos to help you identify the pest.
We all have a role to play in conserving our forest ecosystems. In this specific case, being alert to Emerald Ash Borer and not transporting ash firewood is an important step. From a broader perspective, I suggest the establishment of a dedicated national fund to study and fight invasive pests. If we truly value our nation’s forests, we should all be willing to support such an effort by paying a few pennies more when we buy goods. It’s all about maintaining healthy forests!
