The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is announcing its 2023 plans for combatting the Asian longhorned beetle (ALB) infestations in Massachusetts, New York, Ohio, and South Carolina. Every year, APHIS and its partners evaluate and determine the most effective options for eliminating the pest from the United States.
“We need people who live in and around ALB infestations to help look for and report the damage the beetle causes to trees,” said Josie Ryan, APHIS’ National Operations Manager for the Asian Longhorned Beetle Eradication Program. “By looking at your trees and reporting any suspicious tree damage, you can help us find the beetle sooner and eliminate it quicker.”
This year, the ALB program will focus on inspecting trees in quarantined areas in Massachusetts, New York, Ohio, and South Carolina, and removing infested trees at no cost to property owners. The program will not apply insecticide treatments this year. Program officials will monitor for the beetle’s presence and the movement of wood inside and around each infested area, conduct training sessions for compliance agreement holders, respond to calls for assistance, and perform outreach. APHIS also will continue to develop new methods to eradicate the beetle.
People living and working in quarantine zones may not move regulated items, such as firewood (from all hardwood species), nursery stock, woody debris (dead or living), and green lumber from all ALB host trees, out of the area without a compliance agreement, permit, or certificate. All ALB host trees are regulated and include maple, elm, willow, birch, poplar, buckeye / horsechestnut, ash, sycamore, mimosa, goldenrain tree, katsura, and mountain ash.
State and federal officials monitor the movement of wood within and around regulated areas to enforce the quarantine and may issue fines to individuals and businesses that do not comply with the regulations. A business or person wanting to move regulated articles out of the quarantine zone may: (1) enter into a compliance agreement with the program and obtain the needed permit or certificate for those articles, or (2) request that program staff inspect the articles and directly issue the needed permit or certificate. To register for free compliance training, please call your local office:
In Massachusetts, call 508-852-8110.
In New York, call 631-288-1751.
In Ohio, call 513-381-7180 . In South Carolina, call 843-973-8329.
Source: usda.gov
Photo Credit: pexels-amber-shadow
Categories: Ohio, Crops