The emerald ash borer is a pest that kills ash trees, and is spreading quickly throughout the Midwest. (Photo by David Cappaert, courtesy of invasivespecies.gov)
Scientists and government officials are focusing on what they call “gateway areas” in their fight to stop the spread of the Emerald Ash Borer. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Erin Toner reports:
Transcript
Scientists and government officials are focusing on what they call
“gateway areas” in their fight to stop the spread of the Emerald Ash Borer.
The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Erin Toner reports:
Emerald Ash Borer beetles have killed or are killing more than 15
million ash trees in Michigan, surrounding states and one Canadian province.
Deb McCullough is an entomologist at Michigan State University. She
says right now, infested or dead ash trees are being chopped down and
destroyed. But she says there’s not nearly enough government funding to
target all of the infested areas.
“So a decision has been made at a national level to focus what
federal funding is available on what we’re calling the gateways, the areas
that would let Emerald Ash Borer move into the rest of the country or into
the rest of the North America.”
McCullough says federal resources are being spent to stop Emerald
Ash Borer from spreading to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, and from spreading
deeper into Ohio, Indiana and Ontario.
For the GLRC, I’m Erin Toner.