It's only a little green bug. But the destruction it can cause is truly remarkable. According to a park ranger at Warren Dunes State Park, "After the trees were cut down, it looked like a bomb had hit our campground."

At Warren Dunes, 4,000 trees were cut down in the campground and 9,000 were cut down in the surrounding area. Many of the trees had to be removed by helicopter because they were in a protected area.

The little green bug is the emerald ash borer (EAB), an exotic Asian beetle, which is responsible for the death of millions of ash trees in Michigan and threatens millions more. The EAB belongs to a group of insects known as metallic wood-boring beetles. Adults are dark metallic green in color, 1/2 inch in length and 1/16 inch wide, and are present only from mid-May until late July. EAB larvae are creamy white in color and hide under the bark until adults emerge in the spring and summer to lay eggs. It is the larvae that kill the ash tree.

Following its discovery in 2002, the Michigan Department of Agriculture issued a quarantine for those southeastern counties infested with this invasive beetle.

The 21 EAB quarantined counties are: Branch, Calhoun, Clinton, Eaton, Genesee, Gratiot, Hillsdale, Ingham, Jackson, Lapeer, Lenawee, Livingston, Macomb, Monroe, Oakland, Saginaw, Sanilac, Shiawassee, St. Clair, Washtenaw and Wayne. But there are 31 outlier areas where the insect has shown up.

All hardwood firewood movement from the 21 quarantine counties and 31 outlier sites is prohibited. This means that if you live in one of the above counties and are planning to camp inside the quarantined area you can take firewood to your campground. Do not move it out of the area. The emerald ash borer has made its way to state parks like Warren Dunes in southwest Michigan to Brimley State Park in the Upper Peninsula, both outlier sites, because it has been moved there by campers transporting firewood to burn at their campsites. All hardwood firewood movement from Michigan's entire Lower Peninsula into the Upper Peninsula, other states, or Canada is prohibited. Brimley State Park is the only area where the EAB has been found in the Upper Peninsula. More than 400 ash trees have been removed from the park but ash trees also have been cleared for a half-mile radius around the park to try to stop the infestation.

When you stop at your campground tell the ranger that you have firewood that needs to be inspected. So far this season, park rangers have inspected wood for 8,096 campers. Of that number 1,654 were from the quarantined area. A total 114 arriving campers had ash firewood that had signs of EAB. That wood is burned immediately. Although 114 may not seem like a high number, it does not take many insects to continue to spread the destruction area. Usually their presence goes undetected until the trees show symptoms of infestation -- typically the upper third of a tree will die back first, followed by the rest of the tree the next year.

Here are six things you can do to help:
1. Do not move firewood out of the quarantined areas.

2. Tell a park ranger you are bringing firewood into a campground and allow it to be inspected.

3. Burn all wood before you leave a campground. Do not take it home.

4. Learn to recognize ash trees and what EAB looks like, especially on your property.

5. If you suspect EAB is present in an area not already quarantined, call the EAB hotline at (866) 325-0023.

6. If you burn firewood in your cottage or home, never move firewood out of the quarantined area for this purpose.

Moving firewood causes the spread of other insect pests or diseases that also threaten Michigan's forests, such as beech bark disease, oak wilt and the wood wasp. At Tahquamenon Falls State Park, officials had to remove a large number of beech trees that were infected with beech bark disease, which is caused by beech scale, a sap-feeding insect, and an associated fungus called Nectria. Campers can do their part by leaving their firewood at home and purchasing it instead from local sources where they camp. In addition, campers can help by donating a tree to a park affected by EAB or BBD. For information on how to donate a tree, please contact Cheryl Greaney at (517) 373-0399 or Ray Fahlsing at (517) 335-4823.

For more information, please call the EAB toll-free hotline at (866) 325-0023, visit www.michigan.gov/eab or www.emeraldashborer.info.

Violations of the EAB quarantine can result in fines and penalties ranging from $1,000 to $250,000, and up to five years imprisonment.