Emerald ash borer in Hartford, Litchfield counties The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station announced today that the emerald ash borer has been detected in Hartford and Litchfield counties, in the towns of Southington and Watertown, on July 29 and Aug. 1. This invasive insect was previously found in New Haven and Fairfield counties in 15 towns. The identification of the insect in Southington and Watertown has been confirmed by federal regulatory officials in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Plant Protection and Quarantine. In Connecticut, a quarantine was previously established that regulates the movement of ash logs, ash materials, ash nursery stock, and hardwood firewood from within New Haven County to any area outside that county. The New Haven County quarantine mirrors a federal quarantine also imposed there. The Hartford and Litchfield detection, in addition to the earlier Fairfield County detection in Sherman, will result in the expansion of the state and federal quarantines in Connecticut. The emerald ash borer is responsible for the death and decline of tens of millions of ash trees and has been detected in 20 states from Kansas and Michigan to New Hampshire and south to North Carolina. Ash makes up about 4 percent to 15 percent of Connecticut’s forests and is a common urban tree. There are 307 purple prism detection traps set across the state, excluding New Haven County, by the University of Connecticut Cooperative Extension System. The surveillance program is supported by the USDA. A public hearing on the expansion of the existing quarantine to Fairfield, Litchfield, and Hartford Counties will take place at 7 p.m. Aug. 28 the Prospect Town Hall. Regulations are in effect regulating the movement of firewood from out-of-state into Connecticut or within the state, including the requirement of a permit to bring out-of-state firewood into Connecticut. Information about the quarantine, firewood regulations and how to protect ash trees can be found at ct.gov/deep/eab or at ct.gov/caes/eab. For more information on the insect, visit emeraldashborer.info.
Posted on: Fri, 09 Aug 2013 20:25:23 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015