Cover Your Ash!

By Andrew Peerless in Miscellaneous on Mar 30, 2005 7:13PM

Since 2002, Illinois naturalists and foresters have been nervously eyeing the eastern horizon, fearing the invasion of one of Michigan's greatest pests. Nope, not Ted Nugent. We're referring to the emerald ash borer, a devastating, metallic-green critter that has devoured more than 15 million ash trees in Michigan in the three years since it was first discovered near Detroit - and seems to be headed our way.

Ash trees gained widespread popularity in the midwest after Dutch Elm Disease ravaged vast swaths of urban forest in the 1960's. Scientists are feverishly trying to save their ashes, but - with borers already turning up in parts of Ohio, Indiana, Maryland, Virginia and Ontario - seem to be fighting a losing battle. Ironically, the only way to prevent the thumbnail-sized critters from spreading is by removing, mulching and burning all ash trees, infected or healthy, within two miles of those that are known to be effected.

In Illinois, the ash borers would find a smorgasbord that even Old Country Buffet couldn't touch: more than 131 million ash trees, 600,000 of which are found within Chicago city limits. Due to fears over this particular insect, Chicago officials actually stopped planting young ash trees two years ago. Scary.

In the meantime, Michigan officials are working feverishly to clear their state of potential victims, as springtime's warmer temperatures mean the bugs will soon begin emerging from their ash-holes to do one thing: make more ash-holes. That's all they want... more ash-holes (Chicagoist understands how serious this threat is, but these ash-hole jokes are kind of irresistable).

Image courtesy of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency