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8 THE RURAL VOICE
Jeffrey Carter
Exotic tree pest threatens forests
Jeffrey
Carter is a
freelance
journalist
based in
Dresden,
Ontario.
Everyone hears about the benefits
of international trade. Politicians of
all stripes, even those with
reservations, will tell you that trade is
good.
There are also costs, however.
One that few people consider relates
to the unintended movement of
plants, animals, insects and disease
that occurs when trade takes place.
The Dutch Elm disease came to
North America from Europe about 70
or 80 years ago. Today, relatively few
American elm trees are left standing.
Now ash trees are at risk. The
Emerald ash borer has gained a
foothold in the Windsor and Detroit
area, likely having arrived in the
lumber used for shipping. Millions of
trees on both sides of the border are
dead or dying and government in
both jurisdictions
are only now
beginning to
assess the scope
of the problem
and take action.
the implica-
tions are
enormous.
The insect is
native to China and Japan where
natural predation keeps it in check. In
North America, infected ash trees are
doomed. Even a large, healthy tree
will be killed within two to four years
after being infected.
It's estimated there are a million
ash trees in both Michigan and
Ontario but ash trees across the
continent are also threatened.
Green ash is among the most
popular shade species in urban areas.
The cost of removing and replacing
them would run into than billions.
The white ash and other ash
species that grow in rural wood Tots
are valued as cordwood. An even
greater concern may be unforeseen
repercussions in the ecosystem if ash
trees were to be obliterated from the
landscape.
Fortunately, government
representatives in both the United
States and Canada are taking the
problem seriously. Robert Holland, a
metnber of the Windsor -based Ash
Rescue Team, says television, radio
and newspaper reports likely helped.
"I doubt whether there would
have been any money at all from
government in Canada for the
problem if it wasn't for the
coverage," he says.
As it stands, there are plans to
identify the leading edge the
infestation and halt its spread. The
insect, now emerging from
previously infected trees, flies only a
few kilometres each year.
On the Canadian side, the spread
can be stopped by removing trees in a
five -kilometre wide strip that cuts
from north to south across the east
part of Essex County. In the United
States, the outbreak is larger and the
"firebreak" would need to be much
longer to surround the infestation on
all sides.
According to Dr.
Robert Haack of the
U.S. Forest Service,
there's an increasing
number of exotic
species being import-
ed into North
America.
"In the U.S. we
inspect just two per cent of the cargo
that comes into our country and I
suspect it's not much different in
Canada," the entomologist says.
"This is one of the negative
repercussions of international trade."
You can learn more about the
Emerald ash borer, by going to the
website www.ashrescueteam.com.0
The
Emerald ash borer larvae.
The Rural Voice
welcomes your opinions for our
Feedback letters to the editor
column.
Mai/ to: The Rural Voice,
PO Box 429, Blyth, ON NOM I HO