It was a beautiful late summer day in Southeast Michigan, filled with bright sunshine and the promise that autumn would wait to show her true colors, at least for a little while longer. Despite the picture of contentment Mother Nature showed us that day, we knew we were heading out to meet some people with a serious job to do.

We met up with one of the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) survey teams literally at a crossroads in rural Genesee County. They were easy to spot, with their EAB hats and Day-Glo green vests labeled, "EAB Survey Team." This was one of six eight-person survey teams assigned to seek out and identify ash trees infested with the Emerald Ash Borer in Southeast Michigan.

Emerald Ash Borer is a new exotic insect, discovered in Southeast Michigan in the summer of 2002, that has already decimated more than 6 million ash trees in our state. EAB aggressively attacks ash trees, killing even healthy trees in just one to three years by burrowing under the bark and cutting off critical flow of water and nutrients. Signs indicate that it may have been in Michigan for as long as five or more years before it was identified. Little is known about EAB, even in its native Asian countries. It has no identified natural predators and, to date, there are no proven chemical or biological options to control or eliminate it.

The role of the EAB survey teams is to survey ash trees to identify the pest population along the "leading edge" of the primary infestation area in Southeast Michigan. The data collected through the surveys will help in the development of control strategies for EAB.

That morning, we were greeted by EAB crew leader Jessica Colpean. Jessica introduced us to the eight-person survey crew she oversees. Her crew includes: Jeff Frostick, Casey Smith, Jeremy Fadella, Tom Korrock, Darryl Albert, David Jones, Dale Dombrowski and Ray Bresett.

Meet the Team

The EAB survey crew came from all walks of life before joining the Michigan Department of Agriculture as part of the EAB Eradication Project. They are talented individuals who make up an awesome team.

Jessica, a former production supervisor at General Motors, has a bachelor's degree in Natural Resources. When the crew leader position was posted, she jumped at the opportunity to get back to a job more in her area of study.

Jeff spent 8-1/2 years as a supervisor of the engineering department OEM pollution control; Jeremy was a fulltime student, first majoring in legal studies and sociology at the University of Buffalo in Buffalo, N.Y., then Environmental Law at Cooley Law School in Lansing; Casey grew up on a dairy and beef farm and has worked for the Michigan State Police, the Attorney General's office, and as a program technician for the USDA in Clinton County; Tom was in the landscape construction business for 25 years and is a certified nurseryman for the Michigan Nursery and Landscapers Association; David worked for Lucent Technologies; Darryl was in the environmental consulting/drilling business; and Ray worked in the information technology field with telecommunications and data networking as his specialty.

Despite their differing backgrounds, the EAB survey crew shares a common interest in working outdoors, working with a team that shares their interests, and doing something worthwhile - helping to eradicate EAB from Michigan.

Getting the Job Done

As crew leader, Jessica assigns where the team works each day, drives them to their assigned work areas, and tracks their progress throughout the day. She is the crew's lifeline to civilization when they are out in rural areas, and is available to pick them up immediately, if they run into trouble.

Every workday morning, Jessica meets her survey crew by 8 a.m. at the Brighton EAB office. There, she and the team sign out their equipment, run a safety checklist on the van, make sure they have a supply of EAB informational materials to distribute to property owners, and get the day's survey assignments. The crew then climbs into the 15-passenger van and heads to the day's assigned township section.

The survey crew is divided into four two-person teams. When assigning work areas to the survey crew, Jessica tries to keep them together in one township, which is divided into 36 sections. Each section is made up of 64 eighth-mile grids. Each team takes a quarter of a section, or 16 eighth-mile grid squares, which equals two miles for each crew to cover at a time. Using a topographical map, satellite image map and plat map, Jessica decides on the logical path through each section, based on landscaping, wood piles, stressed trees, die-back of canopies, etc. Always at the top of the priority list when placing the crews is their proximity to roads, access to water and overall safety.

Each two-person crew is equipped with a hand-held PC/GPS unit to enter data points as they enter the first eighth-mile square. At the first ash tree they encounter, the point that corresponds with the GPS coordinates is entered into the PC. Each team also carries a cellular phone, compass, clipboard and EAB literature. The crew also wears EAB safety vests and hats that identify them as part of the EAB survey team, and State of Michigan identification tags.

When the crew goes on a homeowner's property, they attempt to contact the homeowner immediately. If they meet a homeowner, they introduce themselves and give them a brochure explaining what they are doing. Otherwise, they leave a door hanger with information about EAB and the survey effort.

The crew looks for signs of EAB infestation, including canopy loss, shoots or sprouts on the lower part of the tree, splits in the tree bark, D-shaped exit holes, and actual adult EAB beetles.

If they find an ash tree outside the core area that is infested or they suspect it is infested, the tree is marked with fluorescent tape and its GPS coordinates recorded. The data collected in the field is downloaded from the hand-held PCs to a laptop computer during transit from the field to the EAB office each afternoon.

Once they get to the Brighton office, Jessica downloads the information from the laptop to the computer at the office. All information collected by the survey crew is entered into a survey database used to determine future management and treatment strategies.

To prepare for their jobs as surveyors, the survey crew attended a training session before going out in the field. The week-long session covered personal safety, weather safety, tree and bug identification, equipment use, and working with the public.

Public response to the EAB survey teams during this first season of extensive surveying has been positive. Mostly, people are interested in what the survey crew is doing, and about what they have found during their survey efforts. Most have heard about EAB and understand the need for the survey crews to have access to their property. On the humorous side, people often ask questions about other bugs and trees. They expect the crew to know why their tomatoes aren't growing or why their fruit trees are dying. They also hear, "I don't have any ash trees" a lot ... right before they find an ash tree on the property. Helping homeowners identify what an ash tree looks like will help stop the spread in the long run.

When asked what the worst part of the job is, Casey, the only female besides the crew leader on the team, joked, "Potty breaks are an issue!" The crew also often finds themselves in relatively dense, waist-deep, swampy areas. "You get wet, then you get hot, and THEN you start to stink," said Jeff. Jeff added that the crew has also run into areas with 100-yard patches of wild rose bushes that can "tear you up a bit." Dale added that they enjoy the open spaces, wildlife and "the challenge of the snarling dog." Losing weight because of all the walking has been an added benefit for many of the team.

The scope, magnitude and sheer number of square miles the Emerald Ash Borer has impacted to date could be just the tip of the iceberg if the pest is allowed to spread to more of Michigan's ash trees, or beyond the borders of our state. EAB not only threatens Michigan's 700 million ash trees, but the ash resources of other states, the country and continent. Ash trees account for nearly 2 percent of the nation's total leaf area, and spread of this pest beyond Michigan could cause up to $60 billion in ash-related economic losses nationwide, ultimately resulting in the removal of ash from our ecosystem. The potential for further devastation in Michigan and beyond makes EAB one of the biggest and most serious plant pest problems any state has ever had to address.

Check out the MDA EAB Web page.