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News Release
9-10-09
AGRICULTURE COMMISSIONER RESCINDS COUNTY
EMERALD ASH BORER QUARANTINES
The West Virginia Department of Agriculture (WVDA) has rescinded county Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) quarantines following the discovery of the invasive pest in Roane County. Commissioner of Agriculture Gus R. Douglass said he would request that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) add West Virginia to the national quarantine program.
“This newest discovery – and the fact that many of our counties border infested counties in other states – leads me to believe that much more of our state is home to EAB than we have documented thus far,” said Commissioner Douglass. “It is no longer feasible to regulate EAB host material on a county-to-county basis, and we must now concentrate on preventing the spread of EAB to non-infested states.”
The action means that the movement of firewood, ash logs and lumber – as well as other material from ash trees – will no longer be regulated, provided the articles remain in West Virginia. The out-of-state movement of these items will now be regulated by the USDA, regardless of where they originated within the state.
EAB was first detected in West Virginia at a campground in Fayette County in October 2007. In May of 2009 it was found near a popular state park in Morgan County, about 180 miles northeast of the Fayette County site. In mid-August, two beetles were caught in Roane County on one of the purple detection traps that were placed throughout the state as part of the EAB surveillance program.
Firewood brought into West Virginia from infested states is thought to be responsible for some of the EAB found in West Virginia. The sites in Fayette and Morgan Counties both were near campgrounds. However, the new Roane County site is not near any public campgrounds.
EAB is an invasive species wood-boring beetle, native to China and eastern Asia, which targets ash trees. EAB probably arrived in North America hidden in wood packing materials commonly used to ship consumer and other goods. It was first detected in the U.S. in July 2002 in southeastern Michigan and has since been found in West Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Indiana, Maryland, Kentucky, Virginia, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Missouri, Illinois and parts of Canada.
For more information, contact the WVDA Plant Industries Division, 304/558-2212.
The West Virginia Department of Agriculture protects plant, animal and human health through a variety of scientific, regulatory and consumer protection programs, as mandated by state law. The Commissioner of Agriculture is one of six statewide elected officials in West Virginia. Currently, Commissioner Gus R. Douglass is the longest-serving agriculture commissioner in the nation. For more information, visit www.wvagriculture.org.
“The Basis of All Wealth is Agriculture.”
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