Public Meeting on EAB Monday Evening
The Minnesota Department of Agriculture will be hosting a public meeting Monday evening concerning the discovery of Emerald Ash Borer infestations in the Rochester area.The first local infestation was found in an area south of the Rochester Airport in August, and additional infestations have been discovered since then.
Officials from the Agriculture Department, the Department of Natural Resources, the University of Minnesota and other governmental agencies will participate in a presentation about the tiny green beetle and how citizens can help slow the spread of the damaging insect. There will also be discussions about a formal quarantine that will take effect at the start of the New Year and will replace the emergency quarantine that was implemented in August. The quarantine limits the movement of ash trees and limbs, and hardwood firewood out of the county.
The meeting will take place from 5 until 6:30 p.m. at the Mayo Civic Center in the Elliott Suite.
Emerald ash borer larvae kill ash trees by tunneling into the wood and feeding on the tree’s nutrients. Minnesota is highly susceptible to the destruction caused by invasive insect. The state has approximately one billion ash trees, the most of any state in the nation. For more information on emerald ash borer, go to www.mda.state.mn.us/eab.
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