Emerald Ash Borer Found in Cheshire

Cheshire ash trees could be in danger after officials discovered the Emerald Ash Borer, an invasive insect originally native to Asia, was discovered in three new towns in New Haven County recently.

The neighboring town is the latest to fall victim to the Emerald Ash Borer, which leaves officials in Southington wondering, are we next?

The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station and the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection announced on Tuesday that the Emerald Ash Borer (a.k.a. Agrilus Planipennis) has been detected in Cheshire, Oxford, and Middlebury  – all located in New Haven County where the insect was previously found in July 2012.

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The state DEEP released the following:

The identification has been confirmed by federal regulatory officials in the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Plant Protection and Quarantine (USDA APHIS-PPQ). The emerald ash borer is responsible for the death and decline of tens of millions of ash trees from the mid-west to New York State and south to Tennessee. Ash makes up about 4% to 15% of Connecticut’s forests and is a common urban tree.

The insects discovered in Cheshire, Oxford, and Middlebury were located as part of a “delimiting” survey being conducted by the CAES and DEEP to help determine the area in which EAB is present and the extent of the infestation. In addition to the three towns announced today, EAB has been previously confirmed in five other New Haven County communities: Prospect, Naugatuck, Beacon Falls, Waterbury, and Bethany.  EAB has also been identified in Dutchess County, New York and most recently, Berkshire County, Massachusetts.

In Connecticut, a quarantine has previously been established that regulates the movement of ash logs, ash materials, ash nursery stock, and hardwood firewood from within New Haven County to any area outside of that county.  The quarantine currently applies to only that part of the state and mirrors a federal quarantine also imposed on New Haven County.

In addition to the quarantine, regulations are in effect regulating the movement of firewood from out-of-state into Connecticut or within Connecticut.  These regulations were put in place to ensure that EAB and other invasive insects are not carried into Connecticut, or spread throughout New England, through the shipment of firewood.

Detailed information about the quarantine and the firewood regulations can be found at www.ct.gov/deep/eab or www.ct.gov/caes.

The emerald ash borer is a regulated plant pest under federal (7 CFR 301.53) and state (CT Gen. Statute Sec. 22-84-5d, e, and f) regulations.  For more information about the EAB, please visit the following website: www.emeraldashborer.info.

Would you want to see Southington take any action to try and prevent the Emerald Ash Borer from spreadng to town?

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