Environment DEC
From the July 2010 issue
Emerald Ash Borer in Cattaraugus County
Last month, the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) began removing nearly 100 ash trees in Randolph, Cattaraugus County, in an effort to prevent the spread of the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB). These beetles kill ash trees, and their presence was first confirmed in New York State in 2009.
Look for d-shaped exit holes in the bark of trees infested with the ash borer. (Photo: Univ, of Wisconsin, Dept. of Entomology)
Infested trees were recently identified in wooded areas within two miles of last year's original site of infestation and are contained in the previously established EAB quarantine area. Infested trees are cut and chipped into small pieces to destroy beetle larvae and emerging beetles and to help prevent their spread to other ash trees in the area.
Selected ash trees are girdled (have a collar of bark removed) to attract dispersing adult EAB within the area-a detection strategy that has proven effective in other states where EAB infestation has occurred. In areas that have been identified as infested, a cluster of girdled trees are left standing to attract and contain beetles, discouraging their movement beyond. Single trees outside the infested area but still within the quarantine area may also be girdled to serve as "sentinels" to help determine and delineate the spread of EAB.
Purple Traps
If you find one of the purple EAB traps, please leave it in place.
Purple prism-shaped EAB traps deployed in ash trees are concentrated adjacent to the infested area. The traps, which help to detect the presence of EAB and are useful in determining the extent of infestation, should be left in place when found. Landowners can help monitor the situation by looking for any signs that would indicate the presence of EAB, such as crown dieback, woodpecker holes and D-shaped exit holes in the bark of ash trees. Suspected EAB damage can be reported to DEC's Forest Health Unit at 518-402-9425.
Don't Move Firewood!
Area residents also can help by not moving firewood great distances to prevent the spread of EABs. New York State has adopted regulations that ban untreated firewood from entering the state and restrict intrastate movement of untreated firewood to no more than a 50-mile radius from its source.
Related Links
Emerald Ash Borer (leaving DEC's website)
U.S. Department of Agriculture (leaving DEC's website)
