 non-native, metallic green beetle  kills all species of ash trees. Marianne Prue, Ohio Department of Natural Resources - Division of Forestry, Bugwood.org

Beetle larva eat the living tissue (cambium) between the bark and the wood, effectively girdling the tree. David Cappaert, Michigan State University, Bugwood.org Edward Czerwinski, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Bugwood.org

Credit: Dan Herms, Ohio State University

 “D” shaped exit hole  “S” galleries under the bark David Cappaert, Michigan State University, Bugwood.org David R. McKay, USDA APHIS PPQ, Bugwood.org

 Suckering  Dieback  Excessive woodpecker activity Steven Katovich, USDA Forest Service, Bugwood.org James W. Smith, USDA APHIS PPQ, Bugwood.org

Daniel Herms, The Ohio State University, Bugwood.org

1 Data from Vermont FIA Core Table 4, Morin, R.S.; Nelson, M.; De Geus, R Vermont’s forest resources, Res. Note. NRS-105. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station. 4 p. Includes all live trees at least 5” DBH. Net volume (ft 3 ) of all live ash trees in Vermont by county and ownership 1 EAB puts all of these trees in danger.

 Natural dispersal is slow  Accelerated by people  80% of all new EAB infestations start in or around campgrounds

 Need to mitigate public safety hazards  Cost of removal & replacement of hazardous ash trees-over $10.7 billion!  Home values will decrease. © Mark Whitmore, Cornell University Mark Whitmore, Cornell University

Published September 9, 2011 Excerpts from the study: “We found that costs are largely borne by homeowners and municipal governments.” “Wood- and phloem boring insects are anticipated to cause the largest economic impacts by annually inducing nearly $1.7 billion in local government expenditures and approximately $830 million in lost residential property values.” “Given observations of new species, there is a 32% chance that another highly destructive borer species will invade the U.S. in the next 10 years.”

 Losses to the ash products industry could be $25 billion in the eastern U.S. alone. © Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources - Forestry Archive, Bugwood.org

 Tree nursery industry has already felt the impacts. © Caitlin Cusack, UVM Extension

 Key species in many of VT’s natural communities  Increase abundance of invasive plant species and alter insect and amphibian populations © Mark Whitmore, Cornell University

© David Cappaert, Michigan State University, Bugwood.org Ash trees of the most widely planted urban tree types in the US.

Ash, particularly black ash (Fraxinus nigra), is critical to Native American cultural traditions. Black ash baskets by artists Kelly Church (center red basket) and Katie Sickles (2 outer baskets). © Nick Reo, Michigan State University

 Municipality will be notified  State will conduct a delimiting survey  Quarantines will be put in place

 Limits what we can do  Requires labor, intensive treatment, and timing of movement  Special equipment is needed Anyone own a tub grinder?  Need a place to put contaminated wood

 Know the pests  Stop the spread, don’t move firewood  Look UP to look out for pests  Develop a PLAN It's better to look ahead and prepare than to look back with regret. Jackie Joyner-Kersee

Can you afford to manage them? Can you afford not to?  Are your ash trees identified?  Who owns them?  Whose responsibility is it to treat or remove potentially risky ash trees?  Will you treat or remove your community’s trees? Michigan Department of Agriculture, Bugwood.org

 More management options  Time  More utilization options  Save money—It will cost 2 to 3 times more to take down dead ash trees VS live or dying trees

1. Removal 2. Removal and replacement 3. Insecticide treatment  WHICH TREES? All publically owned ash All publically owned and some private ash that have direct impact on public property Only high risk ash trees

 Effective for healthy small-medium trees  Costly $15/inch diameter  Must be treated every 2-3 years until infestation passes

Who will remove? Is there enough equipment? What do you do with the wood? Where will it go? When can this be done?

An inventory will tell you:  How many trees you have  Condition of trees  Identify any candidates to preserve using insecticides  How to direct your management activities

 Biosurveillance  Girdled trap trees  Visual surveys

 Tree removals  Stump removals  Wood disposal  Insecticide treatments  Tree replacement  Tree maintenance

 Planning Worksheet  $500 is available to 20 communities  Planning Community Resource Toolbox (online)  Planning Communications Toolkit  Technical Assistance

Caitlin Cusack UVM Extension 617 Comstock Rd, Suite 5 Berlin, VT

 Content adapted from the NPDN First Detector Training “Monitoring & Management”, “Planning for the Emerald Ash Borer” presentation by Mark Whitmore, Forest Entomologist with Cornell University Department of Natural Resources and “Why You Should Care about Emerald Ash Borer, Onondaga County Planning Federation” presented by David Skeval & Jessi Lynons, Cornell U. Cooperative Extension