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 The new additions to the boundaries include seven counties where
the tree-killing beetle was identified for the first time this year
and five that are considered to be at risk of infestation.
“Those five counties – Christian, Franklin, Fulton, Jefferson and
Mason – do not have a confirmed detection,” EAB program manager
Scott Schirmer said. “Each, however, is bordered by at least two
counties that do and could benefit by implementing quarantine rules,
which are intended to prevent the spread of the beetle through the
movement of potentially-infested items like firewood.”
The seven, new EAB discoveries were made in Logan, Menard,
Peoria, Perry, Sangamon, Tazewell and Williamson counties. With
their addition, as well as the addition of the five “at risk”
counties, the quarantine now covers 61 of Illinois’ 102 counties.
Specifically, it prohibits the removal of the following items:
- The emerald ash borer in any living stage of
development.
- Ash trees of any size.
- Ash limbs and branches.
- Any cut, non-coniferous firewood.
- Bark from ash trees and wood chips larger than one inch
from ash trees.
- Ash logs and lumber with either the bark or the outer
one-inch of sapwood, or both, attached.
- Any item made from or containing the wood of the ash
tree that is capable of spreading the emerald ash borer.
- Any other article, product or means of conveyance
determined by the IDOA to present a risk of spreading the
beetle infestation.
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The emerald ash borer is a small, metallic-green beetle native to
Asia. Its larvae burrow into the bark of ash trees, causing the
trees to starve and eventually die. Since the first detection of the
pest near Detroit, Mich., in 2002, it has killed more than 250
million ash trees.
The beetle often is difficult to detect, especially in
newly-infested trees. Signs of infestation include thinning and
yellowing leaves, D-shaped holes in the bark of the trunk or
branches and basal shoots. Anyone who suspects an ash tree has been
infested should contact their county Extension office, their village
forester or the Illinois Department of Agriculture.
In addition to the 12 new counties, EAB quarantine also includes
Boone, Bureau, Carroll, Champaign, Clark, Coles, Cook, Cumberland,
DeKalb, DeWitt, Douglas, DuPage, Edgar, Effingham, Fayette, Ford,
Grundy, Henderson, Henry, Iroquois, Jo Daviess, Kane, Kankakee,
Kendall, Knox, Lake, LaSalle, Lee, Livingston, Macon, Marion,
Marshall, McHenry, McLean, Mercer, Moultrie, Ogle, Piatt, Putnam,
Rock Island, Shelby, Stark, Stephenson, Vermilion, Warren,
Whiteside, Will, Winnebago and Woodford counties.
The full quarantine order, which takes effect immediately, and other
information about the EAB program can be found on the internet at
www.IllinoisEAB.com.
[Illinois Department of Agriculture]
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