Tuesday, September 6th 2016
The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) has placed Dodge County under an emergency quarantine after emerald ash borer (EAB) was found in the city of Kasson. A United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) trap captured the insect. MDA staff has since conducted a search of the area and has discovered an EAB infested tree. Because this is the first time EAB has been identified in Dodge County, the MDA is enacting an emergency quarantine to limit the movement of firewood and ash material out of the county. This will reduce the risk of further spreading the tree-killing insect. Currently 12 other Minnesota counties and Park Point in the city of Duluth are under quarantine to prevent the spread of the emerald ash borer. The biggest risk of spreading EAB comes from people unknowingly moving firewood or other ash products harboring larvae. Emerald ash borer larvae kill ash trees by tunneling under the bark and feeding on the part of the tree that moves nutrients up and down the trunk. Since its accidental introduction into North America, EAB has killed tens of millions of ash trees in 24 states. The invasive insect was first discovered in Minnesota in 2009. Minnesota is highly susceptible to the destruction caused by EAB. The state has approximately one billion ash trees, the most of any state in the nation.