South Carolina officials have declared a statewide emergency quarantine of some wood products due the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB), an invasive insect pest that inhabits and destroys native ash trees.
Under the quarantine, Clemson University officials will regulate the interstate movement of wood and wood products that serve as hosts to the EAB. South Carolina will be added to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s federal quarantine restricting the interstate shipment of all ash wood and wood products and all hardwood firewood. The action follows a Sept. 29 public hearing in which landowners, timber industry professionals, and state and federal officials gathered to discuss methods for dealing with the pest.
“EAB has been gradually progressing across the Eastern United States for 15 years,” said Steve Cole, director of Regulatory and Public Service Programs at Clemson. “At this point, the ecosystem is the greatest consideration. Quarantine will help us slow the spread of the insect to uninfected areas.”
The emergency quarantine will be in place statewide until the legislature can address the issue, Cole said. It covers transportation out of state of the EAB itself as well as nursery stock, green lumber and other material — such as uncomposted chips — from ash trees, the genus Fraxinus. It also applies to firewood of all hardwood (non-coniferous) species.
“We knew it was going to get here eventually. We’ve had a few close calls in North Carolina a mile or two from the border, so we had developed a preliminary plan for dealing with it,” said Steven Long, assistant director of Clemson’s Department of Plant Industry. “Eradication is not possible, but some level of control is. We are pursuing potential methods of biocontrol. There are parasitic wasps that target EAB. There are systemic pesticides you can use on high-value trees. But the reason this pest spreads so fast is that it has no natural predators here.”
From Woodworking Network: https://www.woodworkingnetwork.com/news/woodworking-industry-news/south-carolina-implements-statewide-quarantine-ash-wood?ss=news,news,woodworking_industry_news,news,almanac_market_data,news,canadian_news