EMERALD ASH BORER Impacts All Ohioans

Nurseries Stuck with Thousands of Trees. Woodland Owners at Risk of Losing Timber Investment. Heating and Cooling Costs on the Rise. These headlines may sound like the effects of a dwindling economy, but all of this is occurring because of a little green insect called Emerald Ash Borer (EAB).

EAB’s impact, both environmental and economic, is being felt all over Ohio. In fact, nearly one out of every 10 trees in Ohio is an ash, making the species an important component in Ohioans’ yards, parks, tree-lined streets, and rural forests.

Ash is a major wetland and waterway tree, keeping our streams and rivers cool and clean. Tourist areas, campgrounds, parks, and schoolyards all are facing the loss of the shade and character visitors love. Ash offers forest diversity, valuable hardwood lumber, and protection for a number of other forest plants and animals. Not to mention, ash is a popular landscape tree. Community streets, parks, and yards all over Ohio planted with ash trees are facing the loss of property value, summer cooling effects, and massive removal costs as a result of EAB.

Estimated costs to Ohio residents and businesses for removal, disposal, and replacement of ash trees is in the billions of dollars over the next decades. Individuals need to keep a close eye on their trees and take the best action for the situation.

Ash is a tricky species due to its structural nature: as it declines and dies, large branches break or the entire tree topples over soon after death. Therefore, the safety hazard created by EAB in communities littered with dead ash trees creates a costly and dangerous problem for municipal leaders and homeowners. Removing dead and dying trees cost significantly more to remove because of the unpredictable nature of the wood. Safely removing trees around homes, buildings, and backyards compounds the cost of dead tree removal. To head off these concerns, several Ohio communities are working to systematically remove ash trees ahead of the borer.

Respect the Quarantines- Don’t Move Firewood

Ohio’s Ash Population
When Emerald Ash Borer was first discovered in Ohio (2003), the only available hard data for the number of ash trees came from the USDA Forest Service’s Forest Inventory & Analysis (FIA) Program. This was data last released in 1991.

At that time, the Forest Service listed Ohio as having 3.8 billion white ash trees. When, adding the relative percentage of green, blue, and pumpkin ash in our state, that led to a number of just greater than 5 billion total ash trees in Ohio. These numbers represent all sizes of trees, including seedlings.

The Forest Service has released its latest FIA data for our state and they are now using a new data collection process that does not count all trees. The new system counts only trees that are at least one inch in diameter. This new data indicates a total of more than 254 million ash trees (all species) one inch in diameter and greater*.  The new Forest Service counting method accounts only for the economically significant number of trees.

* USDA Forest Service - 2006 Forest Inventory Analysis Program

What do I need to know about firewood?
Emerald Ash Borer can become established when infested firewood is transported to new areas. Help stop the movement of exotic pests. DO NOT MOVE FIREWOOD.

Who should I contact?

• ODNR Division of Forestry
  Service Forester
  Urban Forester
  1-877-247-8733

• Ohio Department of Agriculture
  Phone: EAB Hotline - (888) OHIO-EAB
  Plant Pest Control Section - (614) 728-6400
  Plant Industry Division - (614) 728-6270
  Ohio Department of Agriculture - (614) 728-6200

• Mail:
  Ohio Department of Agriculture
  Plant Industry Division, Emerald Ash Borer
  East Main Street
  Reynoldsburg, OH 43068-3399

• Email:
  EAB Section: eab@mail.agri.state.oh.us
  
  

  Below is a typical Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) inquiry the Ohio Division of Forestry receives.
   
  Q: We have several ash trees that have been killed by the emerald ash borer. We are wondering what we can do with the trees after we cut them down. Are we allowed to sell them as firewood? We know we can’t burn them as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has regulations regarding burning near inhabited buildings.
   
  A: Because the Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA) has extended the EAB quarantine statewide, you can move and sell your cut ash anywhere in Ohio.
   
  However, ODA and Division of Forestry recommend that people limit the movement of firewood when they sell or buy it to protect against the spread of all wood-borne pests, including the emerald ash borer and gypsy moth.
   
  EAB regulated articles can move freely within contiguous quarantined areas, except interstate movement into the protected areas.