September 11, 2008

LANSING - Michigan Department of Agriculture (MDA) today announced an amendment to the state’s Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) interior quarantine to help prevent the further spread of the exotic insect in the Upper Peninsula (U.P.).

Effective immediately, Michigan’s EAB interior quarantine has been revised to include all of Houghton and Keweenaw counties in the U.P. In August 2008, an EAB infestation was discovered near the Village of Laurium in Houghton County.

"Michigan’s natural resources continue to be at risk," said Ken Rauscher, MDA’s Pesticide and Plant Pest Management Division Director. "Over the past several weeks, MDA staff, including EAB response partners, has conducted surveys around the Laurium site to determine the extent of the infestation. The current quarantine revision continues to prohibit the movement of ash material or hardwood firewood from quarantined areas in the U.P. or from the Lower Peninsula.”

The Houghton County quarantine is divided into two levels: the City of Hancock and the townships of Calumet, Franklin, Hancock, Osceola, Quincy, Schoolcraft, and Torch Lake are quarantine Level II; and the remaining portions of Houghton County are quarantine Level III. Keweenaw County is designated as quarantine Level III due to its geographic location to the EAB infestation in Houghton County. The movement of hardwood firewood and other regulated articles out of quarantine Level II and III areas of the U.P. is prohibited except regulated articles may move from Level III into Level II areas.

EAB is an exotic insect native to Asia that attacks ash trees. In its larval stage, EAB feeds undetected under the bark of ash trees, disrupting water and nutrient flow - ultimately killing the trees in three to four years. First discovered in 2002, the borer is responsible for the death or damage of approximately 25 million ash trees in the Lower Peninsula.

The movement of hardwood firewood is still prohibited from leaving the Lower Peninsula as it is the leading cause of spreading EAB. The inspection station at the Mackinac Bridge will also continue to prevent hardwood firewood and other regulated ash material from entering the Upper Peninsula.

Individuals or businesses found violating the state’s EAB quarantine are subject to fines ranging from $1,000 to $250,000 and jail time of up to five years for moving regulated ash materials, including firewood.

Additional information about EAB, quarantine details and a map of the quarantine boundaries are available at www.michigan.gov/eab or www.emeraldashborer.info.