Rochester Emerald Ash Borer Meeting 11/17

[delcecchi]

http://www.mda.state.mn.us/en/news/releases/2014/nr20141027-eab.aspx

Rochester area residents invited to public meeting concerning emerald ash borer

Public can also weigh in on adoption of a formal quarantine of Olmsted County

ST. PAUL, Minn. – Residents in the Rochester area are invited to a public meeting on Monday, November 17 regarding the discovery of emerald ash borer (EAB) in the county.

On August 20, 2014, the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) confirmed an EAB infestation in Olmsted County near the interchange of Interstate 90 and U.S. Highway 63. Other EAB infestations have since been confirmed in the area.

Attendees will have an opportunity to listen to presentations on EAB, hear about local plans to deal with the insect, and learn how residents can limit the spread of the bug. Experts from the MDA, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, City of Rochester, University of Minnesota, and U.S. Department of Agriculture – Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service will be available to answer questions.

The public will also have an opportunity to provide input on the adoption of a formal EAB quarantine of Olmsted County. An emergency quarantine was placed on the county in August when EAB was discovered. The MDA will take comments on the formal quarantine from November 1 – December 15, 2014 and proposes to adopt the quarantine on January 1, 2015. The quarantine limits the movement of ash trees and limbs, and hardwood firewood out of the county.

Emerald ash borer larvae kill ash trees by tunneling into the wood and feeding on the tree’s nutrients. Minnesota is highly susceptible to the destruction caused by invasive insect. The state has approximately one billion ash trees, the most of any state in the nation. For more information on emerald ash borer, go to www.mda.state.mn.us/eab.

Emerald Ash Borer Informational Meeting

WHAT: Public meeting to answer questions about the recent discovery of emerald ash borer in and near Rochester.

WHEN: Monday, November 17, 2014, 5:00 – 6:30 p.m.

WHERE: Elliott Suite, Mayo Civic Center

30 Civic Center Dr. SE, Rochester, MN 55904

(Parking is available across the street in the Civic Center Ramp. Parking is free after 5:00 p.m.)

WHO: Representatives from the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, City of Rochester, University of Minnesota, and U.S. Department of Agriculture – Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service will be available to answer questions.

[delcecchi]

Got a call from a guy at church that is a retired forester with a tree business now. Time to start treating (actually it will be time in the spring) ash trees. He will do some sort of treatment to the big one in the front yard that will last 3 years. Cost will be $345.

Seems like time since we are only a couple miles from the location of the first infestation in Olmsted Co.

[PurpleFloyd]

345?

Ash trees aren't even good trees. Mine would be firewood before I would spend a nickel on it.

[delcecchi]

345?

Ash trees aren't even good trees. Mine would be firewood before I would spend a nickel on it.

Mine too probably but it is in the middle of the front yard and would take too long to grow a replacement. Besides I have several box elders higher on the takedown list.

[Dotch]

Depends on where they are. Yeah, maybe not the greatest trees but definitely a step above cottonwood, willows, boxelder and soft maple if one has to choose. There's a row south of the house here and would hate to lose them for another 20 years yet. It will take the hackberries planted in front of them that long to have an impact. The ash were planted before we got here and I'm dam thankful they were. The shade they provide has saved us a bundle on AC over the years.