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Firewood & the Emerald Ash Borer
As we enter the fall season, many of us are looking forward to camping or hunting trips. A big part of these trips include the ritual campfire or the opportunity to warm ourselves by the fireplace at the end of a long day.
Of course, a necessary part of this experience is the firewood that we burn, and this leads us to the topic of the Emerald Ash Borer.
For those of us who don’t know, the Emerald Ash Borer is a small wood boring insect that attacks all forms of Ash trees, and has become a disastrous problem in the Northern part of the country, especially Wisconsin & Michigan. The insects infest the tree and kill it within a few short years and the only known effective treatment is the complete removal of the infested trees. Since 2002, when it was first discovered in the United States, this insect has killed 20 million Ash trees. Ash trees comprise 20% of all trees in most communities, so the effect is dramatic. The Emerald Ash Borer has the same effect on Ash trees that Dutch Elm Disease has had on our Elm trees. Fortunately, the Emerald Ash Borer has not reached our area yet, but the potential is real. Three cities in Northern Illinois have
confirmed the presence of the insect this year.
What does this have to do with firewood and us? Well, the borer can survive in the logs that we may be using as firewood. When we go camping we have a tendency to keep the few extra logs that were not burned and save them for later back home. We want to take this opportunity to remind everyone to purchase firewood at your camp or cabin site and to leave any extra firewood at the site. By bringing the logs home, you may be transporting a few unwanted guests that will have devastating effects. For more information on the Emerald Ash Borer please contact Calvin Beckmann at cbeckmann@ofallon.org or visit the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) home page.
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