It’s here.

 

The Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) was discovered in October in some ash trees at the Clearwater Travel Plaza.

 

The insect is an invasive species that has killed millions of ash trees. It was first detected in the U.S. near Detroit, MI in 2002.

 

It already exists in parts of Minnesota, but was never detected in Wright, Sherburne or Stearns counties until the sighting in Clearwater.

 

“A forest health specialist from the DNR happened to stop at the Travel Plaza and parked. He looks at ash trees everywhere and saw the signs of the EAB,” says Gina Hugo, forest resource specialist with Sherburne Soil & Water Conservation District (SWCD).

 

He reported it to the Minnesota Dept. of Agriculture (MDA). They went through their protocol and announced it and put a quarantine in place.

 

Hugo says the sign that is most correlated with larvae under the bark is woodpecker activity.

 

“When woodpeckers peck a lot on an ash tree the outer bark comes off and you get kind of a blonded effect. You can also see individual pecks,” she says. “If it’s EAB, the pecks are about the size of a nickel and they’re light in color. If it’s a native insect borer, the holes are dark because the woodpeckers have to peck in further.”

 

By the time  woodpecker pecks are visible, the EAB is already in year three or four, which means it’s been at the Travel Plaza that long. 

 

Hugo says MDA sets traps for EAB but they don’t have anyone who necessarily goes around and looks for infected trees except through their Forest Pest First Detector Program. The program is a group of  professionals and citizens who volunteer to be first detectors.

 

If the MDA gets a phone call from a resident or a business owner who thinks they have EAB in their tree, they can dispatch a detector.

 

“That’s one way the MDA has gotten more eyes on the ground to respond to things without increasing taxpayer dollars invested,” says Hugo.

 

The biggest contributor to the spread of EAB is the movement of firewood. That’s one of the biggest messages for people - that moving firewood not only can move EAB but other pests and diseases.

 

The Travel Plaza, with all the car and truck traffic from the Interstate, is in a prime situation for moving cargo, including firewood.

 

“That’s how it got to Colorado, because there’s a big gap between Colorado and the Midwest,” says Hugo.

 

Now the Travel Plaza has to decide whether they want to do a combination of removal and treatment, depending on if whether they want to keep any of the trees. 

 

“I would guess about 30% of the trees on their site are ash trees,” says Hugo. “All of them show signs of woodpecker activity.”

 

Clearwater Public Works Supervisor John Schmidt says the Travel Plaza has hired a contractor to remove the infected trees.

 

“They want them out of there by spring,” he says.

 

If they decide to save any, Hugo says there is a chemical treatment process, usually reserved for trees with at least 60% of their canopy left.

 

Micro-injections of emamectin benzoate into the cambium are recommended. The insecticide only moves upward into the branches and the leaves, so the adults feeding on the leaves and the larvae feeding under the bark get a lethal dose. 

 

“And there’s no chance of it getting into the soil to affect other plants that may be used by beneficial insects,” says Hugo.

 

Some cities in Sherburne County have been removing the poor quality ash trees in preparation for the EAB to try to transition off a reliance on ash in the canopy.

This spring, the City of Elk River is partnering with  SWCD to treat a number of priority ash trees in a few of its parks. 

 

“They contribute to the aesthetics of the parks. Some are 36” in diameter,” says Hugo. “You don’t just grow those overnight.”

 

Another group of trees behind the old Coborn’s in Clearwater also have signs of woodpecker activity, says Hugo. But that’s the extent of the infestation in Clearwater area so far.

 

The MDA hosted a workshop in December. People from Sherburne, Wright and Stearns counties each inspected sites within a certain number of miles and found no sign of the EAB.

 

Schmidt says the City of Clearwater is also taking proactive steps.

 

“We’re in the process of doing an audit, so we’ll know how many ash trees we have in the city. The ones that are sickly we’re going to take down right away,” he says. “The ones that are in good shape, we’re going to watch them.

 

We’re trying to develop a plan now that we know it’s here so we can slow it down as much as we can.”

 

Hugo says Minnesota has more ash trees than any other state in the nation, and much more at stake than any other state.

 

“It’s important that landowners with ash trees have options and that their action or inaction plays into the bigger picture,” she says. “If they’re choosing to leave an infected ash tree up, they’re contributing to the spread of EAB.” 

 

To learn more about the EAB, contact the local SWCD office. They’re there to help: Sherburne Co. - (763) 241-1170 ext. 4; Wright Co. - (763) 682-1970; Stearns Co. - (320) 251-7800 ext. 3.