Search Extension:
Spring/Summer 2008
It's not a question of whether the emerald ash borer will invade Minnesota, but when.
That's why a group of Extension experts has teamed up with the state's Departments of Agriculture and Natural Resources to train "first detectors" in the fight against the small, green beetles that attack and kill ash trees.
Native to Asia, the emerald ash borer was first found in North America outside Detroit in 2002. The insect most often spreads through firewood, nursery stock or other ash materials, and has since shown up in Ohio, Indiana, Maryland, Illinois, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
Emerald ash borer
First-detector volunteers, the state's first line of response in helping to identify the critter, were trained this spring in Andover, Cloquet, Fergus Falls, Mankato, Marshall and Rochester.
Minnesota is home to roughly 872 million ash trees on forest land—No. 2 in the nation—making the emerald ash borer a serious threat to the state's landscape. "Emerald ash borer has the ability to make an enormous impact on our forest environment and our city environment," said Angela Gupta, Extension forestry educator. "The sooner we can detect and manage for it, the better we will be as a state."
For more resources on the emerald ash borer, visit www.extension.umn.edu/go/1008.
© 2011 Regents of the University of Minnesota. All rights reserved.
The University of Minnesota is an equal opportunity educator and employer.
