09-17-2008
Emerald Ash Borer Survey Underway

MADISON - A survey to help determine the extent of emerald ash borer (EAB) in Wisconsin is underway, with crews sampling ash trees in 29 counties. The work marks the conclusion of the "felling and peeling" survey that state workers conducted during the last two years.

This season's survey efforts got underway Monday in Ozaukee and Washington counties, where EAB was discovered in late July. Crews also began working in neighboring Fond du Lac County; Sheboygan County will be inspected within several weeks. Those four counties represent the current EAB quarantine in Wisconsin. By the end of the year, the DATCP crew will have searched for EAB larva in slightly more than 700 trees across a good deal of southern and northwest Wisconsin.

"In the two counties where we know EAB exists, this survey may help us further define the extent of that infestation," said Chris Lettau, Natural Resources Program supervisor with the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection.

Though roughly one-third of the survey will be conducted within the four quarantined counties, the effort is not in response to the infestation that was discovered this summer. This survey work would have taken place regardless of the EAB status in Wisconsin as part of our ongoing statewide detection efforts. The survey is funded by a grant from the United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS).

However, infestation-specific survey work is being conducted within the quarantine area. Ground and aerial visual assessments of much of the Village of Newburg and the immediate area has taken place, and crews are also working on visual surveys in several other communities in Ozaukee and Washington counties. Additional surveys in the area will further help state and federal officials understand the scope of the infestation in the area.

While the various surveys run their course, Wisconsin residents can play a role in preventing the further spread of emerald ash borer by curtailing the movement of restricted materials out of the quarantine area. This includes all hardwood firewood, ash nursery stock, lumber, timber or any ash waste products.

"To a large degree, we can control the magnitude of the EAB problem in Wisconsin," said Bob Dahl, DATCP's Regulatory Section Chief. "This problem will likely be less severe if more people simply stop moving hardwood firewood and instead choose to buy it or gather it at the place where they are going to burn it."

There are an estimated 765 million ash trees in Wisconsin forests. In urban settings, ash varieties represent about 20 percent (approximately 5 million) of all public and private trees.

The emerald ash borer, an exotic beetle native to Asia, has been responsible for the loss of millions of ash trees in the United States and Canada since its introduction. The beetle was first detected in Detroit, Mich. in 2002.

For more information about EAB or the DATCP survey, visit emeraldashborer.wi.gov.

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EDITOR'S NOTE:


1. The 29 counties included in the survey area are listed here, with the number of trees in each county in parenthesis. Final and exact numbers will not be available until the completion of the survey.

1. Barron (5)
2. Dunn (8)
3. Eau Claire (18)
4. La Crosse (44)
5. Monroe (11)
6. Juneau (28)
7. Adams (7)
8. Portage (11)
9. Waupaca (3)
10. Waushara (4)
11. Marquette (5)
12. Winnebago (2)
13. Kewaunee (8)
14. Manitowoc (84)
15. Fond du Lac (20)
16. Sheboygan (76)
17. Washington (101)
18. Ozaukee (63)
19. Dodge (21)
20. Columbia (28)
21. Jefferson (14)
22. Waukesha (68)
23. Milwaukee (16)
24. Kenosha (23)
25. Walworth (10)
26. Rock (3)
27. Green (18)
28. Grant (2)
29. Iowa (12)



2. The DATCP survey crew works Monday through Thursday, 10 hours each day. Reporters or Assignment Editors who would like to cover this story will typically not be able to conduct on-site interviews or gather video/audio/still images on Fridays during the survey season.

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