This site is dedicated to saving the ash trees of North America from the devastation caused by the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB)
as well as the governments' practice of destroying healthy ash trees.
The bug can be killed without killing the tree or damaging the environment.

Click on any blue text to find out more

PLEASE DO NOT MOVE ASH LOGS, BRANCHS, OR CHIPS! Infested material should be burned right where it is taken down.(Note: Only the bark and the outermost inch of ash wood will be infested. The inner solid uninfested wood can be used without concern over spreading the EAB, as long as you remove and burn the infested portion prior to moving the logs)

 

GOOD NEWS ON THE FUTURE OF SAVING ASH TREES

There were some interesting statements from the federal government last week.

In the Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 99 / Wednesday, May 23, 2007 / Notices - page 28947
Issued by the Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Docket No. APHIS-2007-0060, "Emerald Ash Borer; Availabililty of an Environmental Assessment" on the right side of the page about a third the way down the column, I quote:

"EAB eradication efforts involve the removal of all ash trees within a specified radius around known infestations. However, by the time an infestation is discovered and treated, EAB has usually already dispersed outside the eradication zone."

We tried to tell them this over two years ago, and many agencies destroying healthy ash trees today at the front still do not understand this. It does not work. It doesn't eradicate the EAB. It only eradicates ash trees. Individuals should be allowed to treat their ash trees to save them even if they are in the governments "eradication zone."

To view that page of the Federal Register quoted above go to http://www.saveyourash.info/EAB-APHIS.pdf

The above referenced portion of the Federal Register is a Notice to the public of the Availability of an Environmental Assessment prepared by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service relative to the "Proposed Release of Three Insect Parasitoids for the Biological Control of the Emerald Ash Borer, Agrilus planipennis, in the Continental United States."

Here are a couple of interesting quotes from page 20 of that document.

"While it is clear that American ash species are not resistant to EAB per se, they can withstand some attack as evidenced by callusing of EAB galleries (Gould, 2007)."

"Spathius agrili will not have to cause 100% mortality of EAB to impact the health of ash stands, because ash can successfully withstand some attack (Gould, 2007). "

According to them it sounds like an ash tree with a minor infestation of EAB is not necessarily a lost cause. This is even more reason to treat your favorite ash tree with appropriate insecticides and even if the treatment is not 100% affective you may still be able to save your ash tree.

To view the complete text of that assessment go to http://www.saveyourash.info/EAB-APHIS-2.pdf

If you have an opinion to express to the government regarding the proposed release of these non-native insects you can send them online at http://www.regulations.gov. Select Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service from the agency drop-down menu, then click Submit. In the Docket ID column, select APHIS-2007-0060, on the next page click in the Document ID column, Views column or Add Comments column.

NEWS ARTICLES

The following two links are to articles published in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. They are the best, most up-to-date and accurate articles which we have read about the government's attempts to stop the Emerald Ash Borer. We've never met Dan Egan but we thank him for doing his homework instead of publishing stories based on old research, as so many reporters do who are trying to meet their deadlines.

"Are we barking up the wrong tree?