Adult emerald ash borer (Photo by David Cappaert, Michigan State University, courtesy of the Michigan Department of Agriculture)
The emerald ash borer has eaten through
millions of trees in the US and is spreading
west. Erin Toner has more:
Transcript
The emerald ash borer has eaten through
millions of trees in the US and is spreading
west. Erin Toner has more:
For six long years, the tiny metallic-green emerald ash borer has been a killing machine,
starting with millions of ash trees in Michigan and Canada, and then munching its way
into 10 states.
It was recently discovered in Missouri, and now, it’s in Wisconsin.
The prognosis is not good.
Darrell Zastrow is with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.
“Our forests are not typically resilient against non-native species and that is true for
the emerald ash borer. It is generally considered to be a poster child for invasive
species.”
Officials in Wisconsin are doing what everyone else has done – restricting the movement
of firewood and telling people how to protect their trees.
Some promising treatments to fight the emerald ash borer are being tested, but so far,
nothing has worked at keeping the insect from spreading west.
For The Environment Report, I’m Erin Toner.