Biologists with Great Smoky Mountains National Park expect within the next month to start treating ash trees infected with an exotic beetle that has decimated the trees in other parts of the country.
The work will be limited to sections in the Greenbrier area and near the Sugarlands Visitor Center in Tennessee.
Emerald ash borers were found last week on the park’s Tennessee side and almost inevitably will make their way into North Carolina, park officials said.
The half-inch, green beetles have the potential to wipe out the park’s two types of ash trees, green and white ash, biologists say. The mountain ash, found at high elevations and known for its bright red berries, is not a true ash and won’t be affected.
While chemical and biological treatments can protect individual trees, widespread treatment is difficult because of costs and logistical challenges.
From The Citizen-Times: https://www.citizen-times.com/article/20120611/NEWS/306110014/Exotic-bug-threatens-Smokies-ash-trees