Wisconsin officials announced a major initiative on Tuesday to cut down nearly 6,000 ash trees, including trees across metropolitan Milwaukee, to fight the threat of the highly destructive emerald ash borer.
State agriculture officials said crews this fall will cut down 1,420 ash trees in 17 counties, including Milwaukee, Waukesha, Ozaukee and Washington counties.
The workers also will slash bark from 4,480 other ash trees in the same counties - a task called girdling that allows for early detection of the tiny Asian beetle. Those trees will be cut down next fall or early 2008, officials said.
There are an estimated 717 million ash trees in Wisconsin forests. Officials said they will target small trees - those with a diameter of 10 inches or less - or trees that appear to be in declining health.
The bark on the trees that will be cut down this fall will be peeled back and inspected for the pest, which is believed to have arrived from China, originally entering the United States near Detroit.
With detection efforts under way, officials believe the emerald ash borer could already be in the state. Survey work began Monday, meaning infected trees could start showing up yet this fall.
The emerald ash borer has devastated tree populations across much of lower Michigan. For the first time, the invasive species was found this summer in northern Illinois.
Currently, two of the best ways to detect the disease are either to cut down ash trees and look for infestations, or stress the trees by girdling them and waiting to see if beetles bore into the vascular system.
Unless detected early and treated with a pesticide, an infestation is a veritable death sentence.
Cutting mostly on public land
Jane Larson, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, said that crews will try to cut most of the trees on public land.
In limited cases, they will seek permission from private landowners to cut down ash trees, she said.
On a separate front, the state Department of Natural Resources has girdled a few dozen trees on state properties, most on state campgrounds. Results from those trees will be available this fall, said Darrell Zastrow, the DNR's director of forest sciences.
"What we have here is a clear and present danger with the emerald ash borer in Illinois," Zastrow said.
The discovery in Illinois intensified Wisconsin's efforts and helped the state secure federal funds to fight the insect. In July, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns announced that $7.6 million in emergency funding would be made available to Illinois and Wisconsin.
The emerald ash borer was first detected in Michigan in July 2002. In addition to Illinois and Michigan, the beetle has been found in Ohio, Indiana and Maryland.
In Michigan, the loss of 15 million ash trees has been attributed to the emerald ash borer.
More than 21,000 square miles are in quarantine nationally, federal officials said.
A proactive approach
Wisconsin's strategic plan to fight the emerald ash borer stresses early detection and prevention. In the document, officials do not favor taking a "do-nothing" approach.
Even though the beetle spreads only a half-mile a year on its own, it can travel vast distances on firewood and leapfrog from one region to the next. This year, Wisconsin banned firewood from outside the state, and is writing rules that would limit the movement of firewood within the state to 50 miles.
The planning document says that pesticides will help fight the disease, but can't be used as an eradication technique.
"As with any exotic pest, early detection is critical to preserve the widest range of response options," said Adrian Barta, coordinator for the state agriculture department's new and emerging plant pest program, in a prepared statement.
"Unfortunately, in this case, the best tools we have for detection of new infestations require taking trees down."
For now, if isolated outbreaks are found, all ash trees within a half-mile of the infected tree would be cut down.
"But it's not automatic," the agriculture department's Larson said.
She said the crews would conduct extensive canvassing first.
In addition to metro Milwaukee, these counties will be affected: Adams, Brown, Columbia, Dane, Juneau, Kenosha, Manitowoc, Outagamie, Racine, Rock, Sauk, Sheboygan and Walworth.Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
