Emerald Ash Borer Confirmed In Alpena County, Michigan

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Alpena County no longer has the distinction of being one of the few counties in the Lower Peninsula where the invasive emerald ash borer is either absent or has escaped detection.

On Jan. 22, the presence of EAB was confirmed in Alpena Township, according to Angela Riess, emerald ash borer planning chief for the Michigan Department of Agriculture. With the detection of EAB in Alpena County, there are now only six counties in the Lower Peninsula where EAB hasn’t been found, Riess said. In the Upper Peninsula, EAB has been found in one location in Chippewa County. “I am under the impression that it’s just a matter of time before it becomes widespread,” said Ben Nowakowski, public service forester for the Alpena and Montmorency Conservation districts.

It was Nowakowski who was called in to inspect dying trees on a private landowner’s property. While there, Nowakowski noticed the d-shaped exit holes and serpentine feeding galleries that can serve as tell-tale signs of the presence of EAB. Nowakowski contacted the MDA, which sent samples to a lab. Testing revealed the trees were in fact infected with EAB.

According to Riess, signs of infestation also were found in a wood lot and swampy area across the street from the residential property. Riess said the d-shaped exit holes and the extent of decline of the trees suggest the infestation may be as many as three years old.

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