New Jersey fights onslaught of natural invaders; NJ

New Jersey fights onslaught of natural invaders - pressofAtlanticCity.com : Latest News:
MIDDLE TOWNSHIP — Three Bradford pear trees on the grounds around an old farmhouse here were probably planted by a former owner for their glorious white flowers. But those pear trees’ days are numbered: The farmhouse and the trees are now part of the Cape May National Wildlife Refuge, which plans to chop them down to stem the spread of invasive species.
From feral pigs rooting up golf courses to foreign diseases wiping out oysters and backyard flowers going rogue in woods across the state, New Jersey is under invasion. For years the state’s wildlife managers have worked to save wild plants and animals on the verge of extinction. But more and more, they are examining new ways to cope with exotic plants and animals that are faring all too well in the Garden State.

Research paper: Modeling Spatial Establishment Patterns of Exotic Forest Insects in Urban Areas in Relation to Tree Cover and Propagule Pressure

BioOne Online Journals - Modeling Spatial Establishment Patterns of Exotic Forest Insects in Urban Areas in Relation to Tree Cover and Propagule Pressure:
As international trade increases so does the prominence of urban areas as gateways for exotic forest insects (EFI). Delimiting hot spots for invasions (i.e., areas where establishment is likely) within urban areas would facilitate monitoring efforts. We used a propagule-pressure framework to delimit establishment hot spots of a hypothetical generalist EFI in six U.S. urban areas: Chicago, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, New York-Newark, and Seattle. We assessed how urban tree cover and propagule pressure interact to delimit establishment hot spots and compared the location of these hot spots with actual recent U.S. detections of two EFI: the Asian strain of the gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar (L.) (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae), and Asian longhorned beetle, Anoplophora glabripennis (Motschulsky) (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae). Using a lattice of 5-km-diameter cells for each urban area, we used the input data (urban tree cover and propagule pressure) to model establishment and Moran's I to delimit hot spots. We used urban population size and the area of commercial-industrial land use as indicators of propagule pressure in the model. Relative establishment of EFI was influenced more by the two propagule pressure indicators than by tree cover. The delimited land use-based hot spots for Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana and New York-Newark encompassed more of the actual detections of L. dispar and A. glabripennis, respectively, than the population-based hot spots. No significant difference occurred between hot spot types for A. glabripennis detections in the Chicago urban area. Implications of these findings for management and design of monitoring programs in urban areas are discussed.

State gives $1.8 million in grants to help cities fight ash borer; St. Paul, MN

State gives money to help cities fight ash borer Minnesota Public Radio NewsQ:
St. Paul, Minn. — The Minnesota Department of Agriculture awarded $1.8 million in grants this week to fight the spread of the dreaded emerald ash borer.
The department targeted $1 million of the Forest Protection Reserve Grants to areas where the destructive beetle has already been discovered --- St. Paul, Falcon Heights, and the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities campus.
The emerald ash borer has destroyed millions of trees in the United States. The beetle's larvae feed on the inner bark of ash trees, and destroy the tree's ability to transport water and nutrients.
Minnesota has about 900 million ash trees, and department officials have cautioned that the infestation could quickly spread throughout the state.

Ash tree removal to continue - 420 scheduled for removal and replacement; Cincinnati, OH

Ash tree removal to continue cincinnati.com Cincinnati.Com:
Cincinnati, like communities everywhere, continues its attack on the emerald ash borer, with plans to remove more than 400 ash trees every year through 2016.
Of the 80,000 trees along Cincinnati streets, about 7.5 percent are ash trees, according to the Cincinnati Park Board, which developed a plan to fight the little green exotic beetle whose larvae feed on the inner bark of ash trees, killing the trees' ability to get nutrients.

That percentage is higher - 10 percent - among the 5,000 trees in city parks. The potential loss of the city's tree canopy and the impact on the city's budget of removal costs prompted the park board to call the ash borer the "biggest threat to Cincinnati forests since Dutch elm disease," which started destroying trees in the U.S. in 1930.

Quarantine bugs ash producers; Batesville, IN

Batesville Herald Tribune, Batesville, Indiana - Quarantine bugs ash producers:
Ripley County became the 21st in Indiana to have EAB confirmed after an Adams Township landowner called Purdue University in November. Experts estimated the pest has been here for at least two or three years.
Because it was found near the county line, “I would bet you it's in Franklin County as well,” Ellis said.
First the township was quarantined, then the county, which means regulated items cannot be moved out of Ripley County except to any contiguous counties also being quarantined. “Finally, the federal government comes in and says you can't move quarantined items out of the state.”
Quarantined items include the insect itself; all hardwood firewood, not just ash; ash dunnage with crating; ash nursery stock; ash lumber and wood with bark attached; entire ash trees; ash limbs and branches; and uncomposted ash chips greater than 1 inch in diameter.

WSU profs tackle the thorny question: Are natives the answer?

Last week Jeff kicked off a lively discussion about invasive plants. Let me state up front that no one on this blog is promoting invasive plants. But the issues surrounding invasive plants are extremely complex and have profound implications for many groups with whom we work in landscape horticulture and urban and community forestry. It is essential in these discussions that we separate fact from hyperbole. In some quarters, lines have been blurred and people fail to make key distinctions and lump exotic, alien, or non-native species together with invasives. According to the Federal Executive Order on Invasive species 'Invasive species' means an alien species whose introduction does or is likely to cause economic or environmental harm or harm to human health. All invasives are alien but only a small fraction of alien species are invasive (all humans are mammals but not all mammals are humans). Nevertheless, there is a temptation to ‘hedge all bets’ and promote only native species for horticultural planting since native plants, by definition, cannot be invasive. In addition, there is a ‘feel good’ aura that surrounds native plants – if they’re native they must be good – that clouds some of the logic in the argument.

Property owners would rather rake than lose ash; Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN

The ash takes its leave StarTribune.com:
Karen Flink was busy in her front yard last week, getting her peonies ready for winter.
But for the first time in 36 years, she didn't have to rake. The day before, foresters had cut down her ash tree.
'We wish that insect had never invaded,' she said of the borer whose first appearance in Minnesota was confirmed in her St. Paul neighborhood in May. It now threatens the state's 900 million ash trees. 'But it happened, and now we have to deal with the consequences.

Emerald ash borer could devastate Ottawa 'tree canopy'; Ottawa, Canada

Emerald ash borer could devastate Ottawa 'tree canopy' - My Web Times:
If an emerald ash borer infestation struck Ottawa, nearly 30 percent of the city's 'tree canopy' could be lost, according to the Ottawa Tree Board.

To arm citizens with the information they need to deal with the threat, a federal expert on the insect is being brought to town for a community meeting.

The program on the emerald ash borer threat will be presented at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 29, at Ottawa City Hall, 301 W. Madison St.

The program, sponsored by the Ottawa Tree Board, will feature Elizabeth Burns, plant protection and quarantine officer with the United States Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

Illinois State University study looks at ash borer problem; Chenoa, IL

ISU study looks at ash borer problem - Pontiac, IL - Pontiac Daily Leader:
It’s been a pest that has created issues for this community for more than a year. The emerald ash borer has made itself at home here and won’t be leaving until it runs out of housing.
The housing is the ash tree. Many were planted in Chenoa many years ago.
It is believed the EAB, as it is commonly known, made its way from the Chicago suburbs as long as 10 years ago. The mode of transportation appears to be by motor vehicle through the transportation of firewood.

New Hamphire peeks over the Mass. border and prepares for Asian longhorned beetle threat; NH

A tiny beetle carries a big threat - EagleTribune.com, North Andover, MA: "A tiny beetle carries a big threat
Campaign aims to raise awareness of Asian longhorned beetle

By Jo-Anne MacKenzie
jmackenzie@eagletribune.com
They're the smallest of unwelcome aliens, about 3/4 to 11/4 inches long. There's no border patrol to screen them for entry, but federal and state officials are doing their best to keep them out of virgin territory.
The Asian longhorned beetle, known in forestry circles as ALB, is among the scariest of woodland pests, threatening to decimate hardwood forests from coast to coast. Some 23 species of trees are susceptible to the boring beetle, with maples high on that list.
New Hampshire forestry officials are well aware of what havoc the beetle could wreak on the state's hardwood forests. They don't have to look far.
Some 66 square miles around Worcester, Mass., are under quarantine after an ALB infestation was discovered in that city in August 2008. The quarantine area also includes Boylston, West Boylston, Holden and Shrewsbury.

The ash borer may be contained in Missouri; Wayne County, MO

The ash borer may be contained in Missouri - STLtoday.com:
By Kim McGuire
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
09/08/2009

When the emerald ash borer was discovered at Lake Wappapello last year, it seemed certain the green beetle would fan out across Missouri, leaving dead ash trees in its wake.

But so far, surveys conducted across the state this summer suggest Missouri's infestation is confined to the immediate area in Wayne County where it was discovered in 2008.

For now anyway.

Emerald ash borer and related quarantine come to county; Milwaukee County, WI

Emerald ash borer discovered in Franklin - JSOnline:
The emerald ash borer has spread to Milwaukee County, officials announced Friday after tests confirmed that the invasive beetle was found in Franklin.
The discovery raises the possibility that more homeowners will be affected by the tree killer, given how much more populous Milwaukee County is than the six other Wisconsin counties where the beetle has been found, said Donna Gilson, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection.
It also means a quarantine for Milwaukee County, with restrictions on the movement of ash nursery stock, ash timber, tree trimmings and all hardwood firewood, she said.

Tree Commission and Master Gardeners partner on ash census to estimate impacts of pending ash borer attack; Leesburg, VA

Loudoun County News in Brief - washingtonpost.com
Count of Leesburg Ash Trees Is Underway

Leesburg's Tree Commission and the Loudoun County Master Gardener Tree Stewards are partnering to tally ash trees in Leesburg.
The estimate of the number of trees will help the commission assess the potential impact of the emerald ash borer, an invasive pest that kills the trees.
With the borer's spread, most of the ash trees in Leesburg could potentially be lost. By tallying the trees, the commission can estimate their contribution to the tree canopy cover and the potential loss in canopy.
The Tree Stewards will survey ash trees visible from public streets. They will not enter private property. The effort kicked off Aug. 6 and will probably be completed by early fall, before the leaves fall.

Sticky traps, firewood bans key elements of state and local ash borer control efforts; WI

WiscNews.com : Baraboo News Republic
Emerald ash borer target of county, state efforts
By Christie Taylor / News Republic

Bug traps and firewood bans are under way this summer as state and county agencies work to detect and slow the spread of the invasive emerald ash borer, which has killed millions of ash trees in the Midwest since its discovery in Michigan in 2002.
The tiny green beetle, native to East Asia, was first found in Wisconsin last August near Newburg in the eastern part of the state. Infestation was also detected near Victory, in southwestern Wisconsin, this April.
'In Newburg and Victory ... we’re really not having a problem finding them,' said Jennifer Statz, program manager for the state’s emerald ash borer program. 'They’re there.'

Writer bemoans loss of street trees, calls for pesticide use rather than pre-emptive removal as beetle remedy; Dubuque, IA

TH - Opinion Article
Take steps to save ash trees from insect
A chemical solution can protect against the emerald ash borer and its damage.
BY KEN RESCH 2333 WHITETAIL DRIVE, ASBURY, IOWA

Recently a large number of green ash trees along Asbury Road, within the city limits of Asbury, were removed. Some of the trees had been severely pruned to keep the branches out of the overhead lines and needed removal.
Where I take issue with the city of Asbury is in the removal of healthy ash trees from the north side of Asbury Road.
To imply the roots would get in the way of the sidewalks is dubious; in fact, where sidewalks were put in, compensation for tree growth had been made.
More distressing was the implication that the emerald ash borer would probably infect the trees in the near future anyway, so cut them down before they're infected.
I suggest a greener, safer, less-expensive alternative to our impending dilemma with this destructive insect.
Though many communities might choose not to deal proactively with the borer because of its cost on a large scale, individual homeowners can effectively treat their trees with both economy and reasonable assurance of success.

Ash borer puts budget spotlight on foresters; St. Paul-Minneapolis, MN

Ash borer puts budget spotlight on foresters
Seven to 10 times a day, Jaeson Morrison's phone rings. Someone in Richfield is worried about a tree.
An old elm looks weird. Something horrible is growing on a hackberry. A tree has bugs -- is it emerald ash borer?
So Morrison, a tree inspector who six months from now will probably be driving a snowplow, hops into his Richfield Public Works car -- a converted police black-and-white -- and goes out to take a look.
This year's discovery of emerald ash borer in St. Paul has communities around the Twin Cities scrambling to develop plans for identification and disposal of thousands of infected ash trees. City foresters say they're busier than ever. But demand for tree expertise is coming at the same time cities are cutting budgets.

Officials set up traps in state campground, hope to not catch ash borer; Starbuck, MN

Two emerald ash borer traps set up in Starbuck

Chad Koenen

While an emerald ash borer is no larger than a common sunflower seed, it is powerful enough to take out an entire species of tree.

The small beetle which was first discovered in Southeastern Michigan in 2002, has left a path of destruction across its mostly unimpeded track across the upper Midwest. Earlier this year the question of when the destructive beetle would finally be discovered in Minnesota was answered when it was found in St. Paul and near Houston County in southeastern Minnesota. In its trek across Michigan over the past few years, the emerald ash borer has taken out nearly every ash tree in its path, which has some in the Minnesota DNR and Department of Agriculture, including State Invasive Species Specialist Daniel Pasche worried that the emerald ash borer could be more deadly and destructive than the famed Dutch Elm Disease of the early to mid 20th century.

Pasche explained that Dutch Elm Disease didn't necessarily kill every elm tree in its path, some were spared and some overcame the disease. However, this time around ash trees don't appear to be so lucky as Pasche said early-on it appears 'emerald ash borer seems to take every single ash in its path.'

Emerald ash borer: A "ticking time bomb" in Twin Cities - 20% of trees at risk; Minneapolis - St. Paul, MN

Emerald ash borer: A "ticking time bomb" in Minneapolis, St. Paul | Twin Cities Daily Planet | Minneapolis - St. Paul

The Park Board has hung traps for the emerald ash borer — like this one at Brackett Park — in hopes of reducing the amount of damage to the city’s trees. Photo by Scott RussellBy Scott Russell , Bridgeland News
July 05, 2009
Minneapolis, a city known for its trees, has approximately 210,000 ash trees; that’s more than 20 percent of the total number of trees in the city. The emerald ash borer, recently detected in St. Paul near the Minneapolis border, threatens them all. Minneapolis has approximately 38,000 ash trees growing on boulevards, but most ash are on private property, according to the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (Park Board).
Park Board President Tom Nordyke says all the information the Park Board had received suggested the ash borer wouldn’t arrive for three years — optimistically five years. It has not crossed the Minneapolis border but it is clearly ahead of schedule. “We don’t’ have a plan,” Nordyke says. “We will have to figure it out. It will be in the context of a statewide solution.”

Roseville block, in danger of losing 60% of its canopy to ash borer, gives snapshot of concerns at neighborhood level; Roseville, MN

In-Depth: Protect Your Ash
SAINT PAUL, Minn. - Minnesota has one of the largest concentrations of Ash trees in the country, estimated at 900 million. Every one of them is in danger of being killed by this pest. There are treatments available but homeowners need to be careful or they could lose a lot of money along with their trees.
A neighborhood in Roseville is on edge.
One woman says she would like to do something before it spreads too much.
Sixty percent of the shade on this block comes from the lush green canopy of its ash trees. Nobody wants to see the trees cut down. But now that the Emerald ash borer invasion is under way it’s only a matter of time before this menace marches through thousands of neighborhoods and kills millions of trees.

Ash borer found in Schaumburg; Schaumburg, IL

Daily Herald | Ash borer found in Schaumburg
The tree-killing emerald ash borer has been discovered in the southwestern corner of Schaumburg.

Village officials said the Illinois Department of Agriculture confirmed the infestation earlier this month. The village didn't give a specific location or say how many trees were found to be infested with the metallic green pests, but did indicate that a third of the village's publicly owned 36,000 trees are ash trees.