Tag: emerald ash borer

New Strategies to Stop Emerald Ash Borer

  • 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.

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Ashborer Restrictions Lead to Firewood Shortages

  • To quarantine the emerald ashborer, the delivery of firewood has gone through some restrictions. This is leading to some shortages in certain areas. (photo by Joao Estevao)

There are firewood shortages in some areas. That’s because states are restricting the transportation of wood to try to keep the emerald ash borer from spreading. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham reports:

Transcript

There are firewood shortages in some areas. That’s
because states are restricting the transporation of
wood to try to keep the emerald ash borer from
spreading. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester
Graham reports:


Firewood providers are finding they’re cut off from
their customers. States are restricting the
transportation of any firewood from some areas to keep
the emerald ash borer contained. Some firewood suppliers
say the states are over-reacting. Jim Albring is with
Lumber Jacks Quality Firewood. The company is in
Michigan less than a mile from the Ohio border.


“We have three thousand customers in Ohio that we
can’t ship to.”


Including wood bundles for Krogers grocery stores.
Albring says his company hasn’t cut ash, the wood the
emerald ash borer is attacking, for two years now.
Still he can’t ship his firewood.


“I think what happened is that they jumped the gun and
before researching things they made a lot of decisions
that were really, really bad. It’s just a scandal.”


In areas where there are shortages of firewood, the
price is going up.


For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, this is Lester
Graham.

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True Costs of the Emerald Ash Borer

Officials in Michigan, Ohio, and Ontario are all gearing up for another summer of fighting the emerald ash borer. The Asian insect burrows into and kills ash trees. The economic and the environmental costs of the invasive beetle are adding up. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Bill Poorman reports:

Transcript

Officials in Michigan, Ohio, and Ontario are all gearing up for another
summer of fighting the emerald ash borer. The Asian insect burrows
into and
kills ash trees. The economic and the environmental costs of the
invasive
beetle are adding up. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Bill
Poorman
reports:


Researchers first identified the emerald ash borer just a couple of years
ago. The small, metallic-green beetle has killed millions of ash trees,
especially in southeast Michigan where thirteen counties are under
quarantine. Paul Bairley is the city forester for Ann Arbor, Michigan.
The
city is spending millions of dollars fighting the emerald ash borer. But
Bairley says, losing the trees has a significant environmental cost, as
well. Larger ash trees can provide enough oxygen for a family of four
for a
year, and other benefits.


“That same tree will provide the cooling value of about twenty
room-size air conditioners, BTU equivalents…and probably most importantly, air filtration
of pollutants. A car driven 11-thousand miles per year, that tree could
absorb effectively, recycle the exhaust from that automobile.”


Researchers think the emerald ash borer first arrived in the mid 90s
aboard
packing materials for goods shipped from Asian countries. For the
Great
Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Bill Poorman.

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Foreign Bug Chews Up Ash Tree Business

  • The Emerald Ash Borer is destroying hundreds of thousands of ash trees in Michigan, Ohio, Maryland, and Ontario. The Asian insect likely made its way to North America in wood packing materials. (photo courtesy of David Cappaert, Michigan State University)

An exotic pest called the emerald ash borer is laying waste to millions of trees in Michigan and Ohio. Now it’s affecting sales of ash trees across the entire country. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Tracy Samilton reports:

Transcript

An exotic pest called the emerald ash borer is laying waste to
millions of trees in Michigan and Ohio. Now it’s affecting sales of ash
trees across the entire country. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Tracy
Samilton reports:


The attractive, adaptable, and fast-growing ash tree is a favorite of
growers, landscapers and homeowners. But sales of the tree have plummeted
nationwide, even though the emerald ash borer has only infested trees in
Michigan, Ohio and Maryland so far. Dave Bender is President of the
Illinois Nurserymen’s Association. Bender says the city of Chicago, the
biggest buyer of trees in the state, recently issued a moratorium on
buying ash trees. One Illinois grower lost a big chunk of his business
almost overnight.


“Last year he sold 5,000 ash trees – a little over 5,000 ash trees. This year he sold one.”


Bender says the emerald ash borer is an energetic insect that travels
great distances quickly, so it’s only a matter of time before it arrives
in Illinois and beyond. He says Great Lakes growers are developing
contingency plans to try to slow and control its spread until researchers
find ways to eradicate it.


For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Tracy Samilton.

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States Say Feds Falling Short on Invasives

State officials say the federal government is failing to do enough to stop invasive species of plants and animals from damaging the environment and the economy. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham reports:

Transcript

State officials say the federal government is failing to do enough to stop invasive species of plants
and animals from damaging the environment and the economy. The Great Lakes Radio
Consortium’s Lester Graham reports:


The investigative arm of Congress, the General Accounting Office, surveyed state officials about
invasive species, the non-native plants and animals that sometimes stow away in shipments to the
U.S.


Many of the pests get loose in the wild and do a lot of damage, such as the zebra mussels that are
harming the ecosystems of lakes and rivers and emerald ash borers that are killing ash trees.


State officials say there are gaps in federal legislation, leaving no money or no requirements to
control the invasive species that have been here for a long time. State officials also say that
international trade agreements can make it difficult to regulate products that might harbor
invasive species because the trade agreements don’t address the problem.


The end result is often cheap imported goods that don’t consider or factor in the cost of the pest
that can be brought in with the cheap goods. Some state officials also noted that it would be more
effective to prevent the species from getting here in the first place instead of fighting them later.


For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, this is Lester Graham.