AUGUSTA, Maine — The Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry (DACF) is seeking the public’s help in locating ash trees sold by a major retailer in Maine this summer. Entomologists are concerned that they may contain emerald ash borer (EAB), a tree-killing insect that wipes out ash trees in areas where it is present.
EAB arrived in North America from overseas late in the last century. From its initial beachhead in Michigan, it has spread throughout more than half the country in wood products including firewood, but also in trees sold for planting.
Last month, DACF personnel discovered ash trees for sale at a major retailer that had been shipped from a New Jersey nursery that was inside an EAB quarantine area. Those trees were immediately removed from sale and destroyed. The New Jersey nursery reported shipping three (3) additional trees to Maine stores which were sold before DACF personnel discovered the quarantine violation.
Because they may pose a threat to Maine’s forest resources, the DACF is asking for the public’s help in locating the remaining three trees. They would have been purchased this summer from a major retailer with several stores in Maine. They were potted, retailed for $120, and were labelled as Fraxinus pennsylvanica Patmore on the tree tags and Fraxinus oxycarpa “Raywood” on the container sticker.
If you have possession of one or more of these plants, please send a picture of the tree, tree tag or sales receipt to forestinfo@maine.gov. Trees which are confirmed to have been part of this shipment will have to be inspected and possibly destroyed. Reimbursement for the cost of the trees will be arranged.
The DACF suggests that people refrain from planting any kind of ash tree (Fraxinus spp., not mountain-ash) or white fringe tree in the state since EAB has been discovered in the northern border towns of Maine and because the state is also surrounded by EAB infestations in Vermont, New Hampshire, New Brunswick and Quebec. Ornamental ash in areas with EAB require regular pest management treatments for survival. Visit www.maine.gov/eab for more information about emerald ash borer.
To report an ash tree purchase, please contact: forestinfo@maine.gov or (207) 287 2431.
