Stopping The Spread Of A Destructive Insect
The Emerald Ash Borer is a tiny, bright green beetle native to Asia. It is causing widespread damage in several areas of the United States. A number of states have imposed tough rules or outright bans on bringing firewood into campgrounds as a result.
Indiana, Ohio and Michigan — where the emerald ash borer has been located — have imposed tough rules on bringing wood into parks and moving live ash trees or logs out of infested areas.
Wisconsin and South Dakota have banned out-of-state firewood outright, and other states are keeping a wary eye on the bug, which has killed nearly 20 million North American ash trees in the three infested states and southern Ontario.
The iridescent green beetle was found in Michigan in 2002. Experts say it likely hitched a ride years earlier from Asia in wooden packing crates. Campers, hunters and city dwellers heading off to cottages for weekend excursions have spread them rapidly by bringing their own firewood along for outings, experts say.
"It's almost done unconsciously when you go camping — you pack your cooler and your tent and your firewood and you head out," said Sharon Lucik, a spokeswoman with the U.S. Animal Plant and Health Inspection Service in Brighton, Mich.
Because the ash borer's native range is in Asia, it has no natural predators in North America. Trees can be treated annually with chemicals to combat the larvae, but that isn't an economical option for vast forest expanses, tree-lined streets and suburban yards, Lucik said.
She said the federal agency's goal is for states to keep ash borer populations confined to infested areas so the beetle will be easier to combat if an effective form of control is found.
The beetle doesn't just threaten ash trees, a wide-ranging species valued for fast growth, shade and fall foliage in the wilderness. Ash wood, strong and light in color, is used in furniture and baseball bats, generating about $200 million annually, according to the American Forest & Paper Association.
So if you're a camper maybe it's time to change your habits and not bring firewood with you at all. Because this has happened before and may well happen again. Illinois has been fighting another species of beetle for a number of years and is finally getting the upper hand. But they are now imposing firewood restrictions so they don't go through the same thing all over again.
By Roland Hesz, Wednesday, 31 May , 2006 @ 8:27 am
What if they bring in the natural predator of the ash borer?
And the natural predator of that predator.
And the natural predator of that predator.
…
Change the fauna.
But maybe it could work.
By Gaius, Wednesday, 31 May , 2006 @ 8:39 am
Somehow, I don’t think that’s a great idea…..
By Black Jack, Wednesday, 31 May , 2006 @ 12:34 pm
Hawaii once had a problem with rats, so they imported the mongoose, a natural killer of rats. Problem is they never encountered each other. One is nocturnal and the other isn’t. Now Hawaii has thriving populations of both.
By Roland Hesz, Wednesday, 31 May , 2006 @ 12:58 pm
But you can always make it worse.
That’s why I wrote an “endless” repeat of “And the natural…”
And the smile…