05/23/2007

Media Advisory: Emerald Ash Borer, Ash Wood Utilization Program May 24 in Toledo

Writer:

Mauricio Espinoza
espinoza.15@osu.edu
(330) 621-6541

Source:

Amy Stone, OSU Extension, Lucas Co.
stonea@postoffice.ag.ohio-state.edu
(419) 578-6783

TOLEDO, Ohio — Ohio State University Extension will offer an emerald ash borer (EAB) informational program and ash wood utilization demonstration Thursday, May 24, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Macomber Lodge, Pearson Metropark, 4701 Navarre Ave., Oregon, Ohio.

Lucas County Commissioner Tina Skeldon Wozniak will be attending the event, which will feature a demonstration of how a portable sawmill can be used to turn ash trees infested or threatened by EAB into valuable products. OSU Extension personnel will be available to provide materials and answer questions about the exotic insect.

May 20-26 has been declared “EAB Awareness Week” by Ohio and seven other states affected or threatened by the voracious pest, which has already destroyed millions of native ash trees in the Midwest and has the potential to completely erase these valuable hardwoods from North America — including 5 billion ashes in Ohio.

A native of northeast Asia, EAB has been found in 28 of Ohio’s 88 counties, as well as in parts of Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Maryland and Ontario, Canada. A state quarantine in Ohio makes it illegal to move all hardwood firewood, ash trees and parts of ash trees out of Allen, Auglaize, Cuyahoga, Delaware, Defiance, Erie, Franklin, Fulton, Hamilton, Hancock, Hardin, Henry, Huron, Logan, Lorain, Lucas, Marion, Medina, Mercer, Miami, Sandusky, Seneca, Ottawa, Paulding, Warren, Williams, Wood and Wyandot counties.

For more information, contact Mauricio Espinoza at (330) 621-6541.

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