Tree-killing beetle hits state

Movement of firewood spreads ash borer, officials say

HOPE -- An Asian beetle that is blamed for killing millions of ash trees since it was found in the United States just more than a decade ago has been found in southwestern Arkansas.

The emerald ash borer has been found in Hot Spring, Clark and Nevada counties, according to the Arkansas Plant Board and the state Department of Agriculture.

"I think the emerald ash borer's impact will be huge," said Tamara Walkingstick, associate director of the Arkansas Forest Resources Center.

The discovery could lead to Arkansas being added to a federal quarantine that prohibits the movement of firewood and nursery stock in an effort to slow the spread of the insect.

The 0.5 inch-long beetle has now spread from southeastern Michigan, where it was first seen in the U.S. in 2002, to southwestern Arkansas. While its discovery in Arkansas was not unexpected, it was surprising that it was found so far south so soon, said Jon Barry, extension forester with the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.

"The emerald ash borer should be able to spread only a few miles a year by flight, but it has been spreading by leaps and bounds instead," Barry said. "The most likely culprit in the spread of the borer is us -- people. People move firewood, sometimes firewood that is infested with the emerald ash borer, and in the process move the pest."

Officials said firewood should be bought and burned locally to help control the spread of the borer.

In the more than dozen states where the borer was previously found, ash trees are being cut down and removed in an effort to prevent the insect's spread.

"Shade tree loss and cost of removal in urban forests could tally in the millions of dollars," Walkingstick said.

There's another cost, too.

"You like baseball? Wood bats are made from ash. They do have commercial value," Barry said.

The adult beetles eat ash foliage and cause little damage, but the larvae feed on the inner bark of ash trees, disrupting the trees' ability to transport water and nutrients, according to a website operated by the U.S. Agriculture Department, Michigan State University, Purdue University and Ohio State University.

The website said the insect likely arrived in the United States on solid wood packing material carried in cargo ships or airplanes originating in its native Asia.

Metro on 07/28/2014

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