For Immediate Release
June 12, 2018
Emerald
Ash Borer Public Meeting
State
Officials to seek public input in affected area on June 18
FRENCHVILLE – Officials
from the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry’s (DACF) Maine
Forest Service (MFS) and Division of Animal and Plant Health will hold a public
meeting in northern Aroostook County following discovery of emerald ash borer (EAB)
in Madawaska and Frenchville.
The purpose of the public
meeting is to provide information about the department’s planned response to
the detection of emerald ash borer; discuss the bureau’s proposed emergency
order to stop movement of ash from Frenchville and Madawaska; and receive
feedback and input from the public.
WHEN:
Monday, June 18, starting at 6:30 p.m.
WHERE:
The Frenchville Community Center https://www.frenchville.org/services/community-center.html
WHAT: Members
of the public in the affected area are encouraged to provide feedback and
suggestions prior to adoption of a Proposed Stop Movement Order for Frenchville
and Madawaska.
FUTURE MEETINGS: Will
cover the biology of the insect, implications for forest health and management and potential impacts to cities and towns.
Discovery of EAB will change how ash
is allowed to move
The
emerald ash borer (EAB) was recently discovered in Madawaska, less than 200 yards
from the Frenchville town line. This is the first detection of EAB in Maine. Because
EAB attacks and kills all species of ash (except mountain ash), it presents a
serious threat to Maine’s forest and shade trees. It is also a federally and
internationally quarantined pest, which further adds priority to Maine’s
response.
As a first step the MFS is proposing to place a temporary, emergency “stop
movement” order on all live ash, ash logs and pulpwood and on all
untreated firewood from Madawaska and Frenchville, Aroostook County.
This emergency order is a
temporary, stop-gap measure to address the immediate threat of inadvertent
movement of EAB while the DACF and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service (APHIS) negotiate the size and conditions of a formal
state/federal quarantine.
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