Syracuse.com - DEC efforts to stop spread of emerald ash borer into Central New York proved unsuccessful

[HuntingNY-News]

In recent months, the DEC has been conducting spot checks of campers transporting firewood and has burned more than a ton of confiscated wood.

The state Department of Environmental Conservation has taken several extra steps recently to monitor and stop the spread of the emerald ash borer into Central New York.

In recent months, the DEC has been conducting checks of campers transporting firewood and has burned more than a ton of confiscated wood.

It hasn't worked. The local presence of the dime-sized, invasive species, which officials say has the potential to decimate ash tree populations, was confirmed last week in the town of Dewitt by an U.S. Department of Agriculture contractor. The contractor's field crews were checking the purple-colored, hanging traps in that area. It has since been found elsewhere in the county.

For the past several years, one of the DEC's main strategies has been to try and stop the transportation of firewood from the 38 counties in generally the southern half and western half of the state where the the bug is known to exist to areas where it is not. In 2009, a regulation went into effect limiting the movement of untreated firewood (firewood that has not been heat-treated to kill pests) to no more than 50 miles from its source.

An emerald ash borer trap.Dick Blume | [email protected] 

Untreated firewood from sources within state must be accompanied by a label, receipt or self-issued certificate stating its source. (The "Certificate of Source" form is on DEC's website.) In addition, untreated firewood cannot be moved into New York from other states.

In late May and early June, DEC regional environmental conservation officers conducted details to check people transporting firewood from inside the NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets quarantine area to areas outside. One detail was set up near the Pennsylvania border, and others in Onondaga, Oswego and Madison Counties, according to Wendy Rosenbach, a DEC regional citizen participation specialist.

In addition to educating people on the transportation restrictions, 14 violations were found. In five instances, the sole violation was not having the self-issued source certificate. "In these cases, they were provided with a blank certificate and "educated on its use and allowed to fill it out and continue on their way, " Rosenbach said.

In the remaining nine instances, the DEC "seized a little over 1.5 face cords of firewood because they were transporting ash from inside the quarantine area of areas outside. One ticket was issued and the rest received warnings.

Of the confiscated firewood, Rosenbach said, "a little over a ton was incinerated at the Oswego County Energy Recovery Facility and a smaller portion was disposed of (chipped then composted) as the Onondaga County Green Waste plant in Jamesville."

Rosenbach added that DEC seasonal Forest Health field crews are in the Syracuse area checking emerald ash borer traps put out by the DEC of a "targeted, high-risk community EAB survey" and checking around the city for signs of possible emerald ash borer attacks on ash trees. Signs include woodpecker damage to tree trunks, crown dieback and excessive sprouting.

She concluded that in addition to the DEC, several other groups (SUNY ESF, the city of Syracuse, Cornell Cooperative Extension and the Onondaga County Emerald Ash Borer Task Force are working on efforts to keep the buy at bay.

According to a map on the DEC website, emerald ash borers have been found in traps in 38 counties in the state (none in the Adirondacks) and full-fledged infestations have been detected in 10.

For more on the emerald ash borer, see DEC website at dec.ny.gov.

Read what an expert says about what individual property owners can do.

View the full article on The Syracuse Outdoors Blog