Community news
CHAUTAUQUA STAR
FRIDAY, MAY 2, 2014
9
information session in fredonia taylor Pancoast to appear on
EMERALD ASH bORER DETECTIOn MEETIng
senior report
SCHEDuLED FOR MAy 5
Contributed Article
CCE
A free information session on the invasive insect emerald ash borer
will be offered on May
5 at 7 p.m. at McEwen
G24 on the Fredonia
State Campus.
With the recent detection of EAB near
Fredonia along the
Thruway, learn what
this means for homeowners and municipalities with ash trees
and what resources
are available to assist stakeholders in
making management
decisions that control
costs, minimize risk,
and maintain property
values.
The session is organized by the WNY
EAB Taskforce,
CCE of Chautauqua
County and the NY
Invasive Species Outreach Program, with
technical support from
the NYS Department
of Environmental
Conservation. Staff
members from these
organizations will
be presenting at the
meeting. International
Society of Arboriculture (ISA) education
credits have been applied for.
The public is welcome
at this free session.
For more information
contact Sharon Bachman with CCE Erie
and the NY Invasive
Species Outreach Program (sin2@cornell.
edu or 716-652-5400 x
150) or Ginny Carlberg with CCE Erie
([email protected] or
716-664-9502 x 202).
Emerald ash borer is
a small invasive green
beetle that infests
and kills all species of
American ash (Fraxinus) trees. EAB has
been in the US since
the mid-1990s and
was likely introduced
through wood packing
material brought into
Michigan where EAB
was fi rst identified in
2002. The fi rst detection in New York was
near Randolph in Cattaraugus County in
2009. Currently there
are 21 counties in New
York with known EAB
infestations. Ash trees
are commonly found
as street trees, along
roadsides, and in
yards and forests comprising 10% of trees in
Chautauqua County.
In the US, it has been
estimated that the cost
of removal and replacement of ash trees
in affected communities will be over $10.7
billion. Researchers
anticipate that woodboring insects such
as EAB will cause
the largest economic
impacts by annually
inducing nearly $1.7
billion in local government expenditures
and approximately
$830 million in lost
residential property
values. Homeowners
and local governments
together are estimated
to bear over 90% of
the overall costs associated with EAB.
Left unchecked an
EAB infestation will
kill all ash trees. Communities need to consider their management options to retain
tree canopy, contain
costs, minimize risk,
and reduce exposure
to liability. Dead ash
trees can pose a public
safety hazard whether
on public lands or
private property. Be
aware of state and
federal restrictions on
th