Environment DEC
From the August 2009 issue
State Implements Quarantine to Halt Spread of Ash Borer
New York State is implementing a quarantine to prevent the spread of the invasive emerald ash borer (EAB), a tree-killing beetle. DEC and the Department of Agriculture and Markets (DAM) are establishing a quarantine, encompassing Cattaraugus and Chautauqua counties, that will restrict movement of ash trees, ash products, and firewood from all wood species in order to limit the potential introduction of EAB to other areas of the state.
State Quarantine Restrictions
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The quarantine will cover ash trees and tree parts, ash lumber or logs, any item made from ash wood, firewood and mulch or wood chips from any tree species.
The quarantine will restrict intrastate movement of certain "regulated articles," specifically:
- Entire ash trees of any size, inclusive of nursery stock
- Any part of ash trees, including leaves, bark, stumps, limbs, branches and roots
- Ash lumber or ash logs of any length
- Any item made from or containing ash wood
- Any article, product or means of conveyance determined by the federal Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), DAM or the DEC to present a risk of spreading EAB
- Firewood from any tree species
- Wood chips and bark mulch from any tree species, larger than 1 inch in two dimensions, whether composted or uncomposted
New York's order prohibits the movement of regulated articles within and beyond Cattaraugus and Chautauqua counties without certification or compliance agreements issued by DAM. The state order also restricts the movement of regulated wood products into or through the quarantine district by requiring several provisions, including, but not limited to, documentation listing the origin and destination of shipments, and prohibiting transporters from unnecessarily stopping while traveling through the quarantine district. The full order will be posted at EAB Regulations and Quarantines on DEC's website.
Federal Quarantine Restrictions
APHIS (part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture) will issue a parallel quarantine. Currently, federal EAB quarantine areas restricting the interstate movement of regulated articles are in 12 states: Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. Federally regulated articles (which differ slightly from New York's list above) include ash nursery stock and green lumber, any other ash material including logs, stumps, roots, branches, as well as composted and uncomposted wood chips. Due to the difficulty in distinguishing between species of hardwood firewood, all hardwood firewood, including ash, oak, maple and hickory, are federally regulated articles.
The state's quarantine order and emergency regulations were developed after extensive outreach and consultation with groups representing forest product manufacturers and harvesters, nurseries/landscapers, arborists, forest land owners and others potentially impacted by the decision, as well as officials from other states where quarantines have been enacted to halt EAB's spread. A public meeting was held in Randolph on July 14 to provide information and receive feedback from the community.
All that is left of the ashes on this formerly tree-lined street are the stumps.
After assessing the current infestation and consulting with national experts, businesses and other stakeholders, the state determined that establishing a quarantine area was the best way to protect the more than 900 million ash trees here in New York," DEC Commissioner Pete Grannis said. "We must take aggressive steps-already EAB has infested or killed millions of ash trees across 13 states, as well as in southern Canada. We will continue to work closely with our partners in these efforts, and to develop further appropriate responses that could be needed as we learn more about the EAB's presence in New York."
More Information
See the complete press release for the comments of other officials about the quarantine, as well as additional information about EAB detection in New York State, the state ban on movement of untreated firewood, and general information about EAB.
