May 18, 2009

LANSING, MI - Governor Jennifer M. Granholm has declared the week of May 17th as Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) Awareness Week in Michigan as part of a national education campaign underscoring the devastating effects of this invasive species.

“In the Lower Peninsula, Michigan residents have seen the death of millions of ash trees, dramatically changing the landscape of once beautiful tree-lined streets or area parks shaded by these popular trees,” said Granholm. “This is an opportunity for the government to join forces with business, industry, environmental groups, community organizations, tourists, and citizens to take action against the spread of EAB by not moving firewood.”

State officials are asking residents to honor quarantines that are in place, which make the transport of hardwood firewood off-limits to the Upper Peninsula or out of quarantined areas. Also banned is the movement of regulated articles such as ash trees, ash logs and lumber with bark, and wood chips greater than one inch in diameter.

State agriculture officials note that for residents in Michigan’s Lower Peninsula, EAB has been a household name for the last several years; however, it’s relatively new to residents and travelers in the Upper Peninsula.

“Preventing the artificial spread of EAB in the Upper Peninsula continues to be critical to safeguarding ash as a genus in Michigan’s forest landscape,” said Ken Rauscher, Michigan Department of Agriculture’s Pesticide and Plant Pest Management Division Director. “I encourage everyone either living in or visiting the Upper Peninsula to increase their understanding and awareness of EAB and its environmental and economic impacts on Michigan.”

Michiganresidents and visitors are urged to learn about EAB and adhere to the state’s quarantine banning the transport of ash trees, ash materials, and all hardwood firewood from quarantined areas. Quarantine violators face fines/penalties ranging from $1,000 up to $250,000 and face up to five years in jail if found guilty of transporting hardwood firewood out of the quarantine zones or Lower Peninsula into the Upper Peninsula or surrounding states.

Along with Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin are using the national EAB Awareness Week to underscore the need for continued cooperation and support of citizens, tourists, communities, government, and industry partners for containing this pest and protecting the millions of ash trees blanketing North America.

Emerald Ash Borer is an exotic insect native to Asia that attacks ash trees in its larval stage; EAB feeds undetected under the bark of ash trees, disrupting water and nutrient flow, and ultimately killing the trees in just a few years. First discovered in 2002, the borer is responsible for the death or damage of approximately 30 million ash trees in Michigan.

For more information on the Michigan EAB quarantine, please visit www.michigan.gov/eab or www.emeraldashborer.info