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Wisconsin Ag News Headlines
State Agencies Begin Massive Emerald Ash Borer Survey
Wisconsin Ag Connection - 09/18/2008

Now that we know Wisconsin has had confirmed discoveries of the risky Emerald Ash Borer, a survey to help determine the extent of the infestation is underway. The state's agriculture department is sending crews out to sample ash trees in 29 counties. The effort got underway Monday in Ozaukee and Washington counties, where EAB was discovered in late July. Crews also began working in neighboring Fond du Lac County, with Sheboygan County on tap to be inspected within several weeks. Those four counties represent the current EAB quarantine in Wisconsin.

Chris Lettau, Natural Resources Program supervisor with the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, says by the end of the year over 700 trees across a good deal of southern and northwest Wisconsin will be checked.

"In the two counties where we know EAB exists, this survey may help us further define the extent of that infestation," Lettau said. "Though roughly one-third of the survey will be conducted within the four quarantined counties, the effort is not in response to the infestation that was discovered this summer."

But, Lettau points out that the survey work would have taken place regardless of the EAB status in Wisconsin as part of our ongoing statewide detection efforts. The survey is funded by a grant from the United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

There are an estimated 765 million ash trees in Wisconsin forests. In urban settings, ash varieties represent about 20 percent of all public and private trees.

The emerald ash borer, an exotic beetle native to Asia, has been responsible for the loss of millions of ash trees in the United States and Canada since its introduction. The beetle was first detected in Detroit, Michigan in 2002.


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