Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels has once again signed a proclamation declaring May 22-28 Emerald Ash Borer Awareness Week—a reminder that it is important to be vigilant in slowing the spread of this devastating insect.
With Memorial Day comes the start of the summer camping season," said Purdue University EAB expert Jodie Ellis. "We ask that campers buy all firewood locally and burn it fully. It seems like a small thing but it makes all the difference in the world to our forests."
Since its discovery in North America near Detroit, Mich., in 2002, EAB has been found in 14 states, leaving millions of dead ash trees and financial devastation in its wake. EAB, first detected in Indiana in 2004, has now been found in 42 Indiana counties: Adams, Allen, Blackford, Brown, Carroll, Cass, DeKalb, Delaware, Dubois, Elkhart, Floyd, Fulton, Grant, Hamilton, Hancock, Harrison, Hendricks, Huntington, Jay, Kosciusko, LaGrange, Lake, LaPorte, Lawrence, Madison, Marion, Marshall, Miami, Monroe, Noble, Orange, Porter, Randolph, Ripley, St. Joseph, Steuben, Tippecanoe, Wabash, Washington, Wells, White and Whitley.
According to Purdue University EAB expert Jodie Ellis, Hoosiers should maintain continued awareness and diligence in slowing the insect's spread. “I would like to congratulate the people of Indiana on their exemplary efforts to slow the spread of EAB in the state. They have been conscientious about moving firewood long distances and educating their friends and neighbors about EAB, and I urge them to continue.”
Ellis also described a new initiative to preserve remaining healthy ash trees. “This year we are asking Hoosiers to go a step further and, where circumstances allow, protect healthy urban ash trees from EAB with properly applied pesticides.” Ellis pointed out that healthy ash trees provide measurable benefits such as improved air quality, water conservation, lowered energy costs, and reduced storm runoff, as well as higher property values and aesthetic value. “It isn’t inevitable that urban areas in Indiana lose all of their ash trees, especially since ash trees make up such a large part of our urban forests.” To help homeowners, neighborhood associations, and communities identify ash trees and learn how to band together to protect their trees from EAB while negotiating group prices from tree care companies, Purdue created the Neighbors Against Bad Bugs Program (NABB), and have declared this summer as “The Summer of NAAB”. NABB events are managed by Purdue Extension and Master Gardeners, and feature community ash tree tagging events that clearly demonstrate where ash trees are while educating residents about their choices to manage them. Ellis said, “One great benefit of NABB is that neighbors learn how to save money and many of their ash trees by negotiating with tree care companies for group pricing. But the most important benefit of NABB is that people learn to act early to save valuable ash trees from unnecessary destruction.”
For more information on preventing EAB infestations in healthy ash trees and arranging a NABB tree tagging invent with Purdue’s Master Gardeners, visit Purdue’s EAB Web site at www.eabindiana.info.