Emerald Ash Borer Found in Armstrong, Washington Counties; Quarantine Expanded

Campers, Homeowners Statewide Urged to Stop Transporting Firewood

HARRISBURG, Pa., July 13 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Emerald Ash Borer beetles
have been found near Brownstown, Kiskiminetas Township, Armstrong County, and
Finleyville, Union Township, Washington County, bringing to nine the number of
counties where the ash tree-destroying pest has been identified, Agriculture
Secretary Dennis Wolff said today.

In response to this latest discovery, Wolff said a state-imposed quarantine is
being expanded to include Armstrong and Washington counties. He reminded
residents and visitors to use only locally harvested firewood, burn all of the
firewood on-site, and not carry it to new locations.

State and federal Emerald Ash Borer quarantines restrict the movement from the
quarantine area of ash nursery stock, green lumber and any other ash material,
including logs, stumps, roots and branches, and all wood chips.

"Our survey crews are assessing the extent of the infestation in these two
counties and surrounding areas," said Wolff. "Due to the difficulty in
distinguishing between species of hardwood firewood, all hardwood
firewood--including ash, oak, maple and hickory--are considered quarantined.
Consumers need to heed the quarantine when traveling and camping this
summer--not just in the quarantined areas, but throughout Pennsylvania--to
prevent any further spread of the beetle."

The invasive beetle was first detected in Pennsylvania in the summer of 2007
in Butler County, and subsequently was found in Allegheny, Beaver, Lawrence,
Mercer, Mifflin and Westmoreland counties.

This summer, 20 crews - 15 in western Pennsylvania, one in Mifflin County, and
four in the eastern part of the state - and two regional coordinators have
been deployed to assess the spread of the beetle. Crews in Armstrong and
Washington counties recovered Emerald Ash Borer beetles from the purple panel
traps deployed as part of the national survey to assess the spread.

Emerald Ash Borer is a wood-boring beetle native to China and eastern Asia.
The pest likely arrived in North America hidden in wood packing materials
commonly used to ship consumer and other goods. It was first detected in July
2002 in southeastern Michigan and neighboring Windsor, Ontario, Canada. The
beetle has since been blamed for the death and decline of more than 20 million
ash trees in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Maryland, Virginia and Illinois.

Typically, the beetles will kill an ash tree within three years of the initial
infestation. Adults are dark green, one-half inch in length and one-eighth
inch wide, and fly only from early May until September. Larvae spend the rest
of the year beneath the bark of ash trees. When they emerge as adults, they
leave D-shaped holes in the bark about one-eighth inch wide.

There is no known practical control for this wood-boring pest other than
destroying infested trees.

People who suspect they have seen Emerald Ash Borer should call the
department's toll-free pest hotline at 1-866-253-7189. For more information
about the quarantine, contact Walt Blosser at 717-772-5205, and for more
information about Emerald Ash Borer, contact Sven-Erik Spichiger at
717-772-5229.

The national survey is being conducted in cooperation with U.S. Department of
Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, the United States
Forest Service and the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural
Resources Bureau of Forestry.

Information is also available at www.agriculture.state.pa.us/emeraldashborer.
CONTACT: Jean Kummer
717-787-5085

SOURCE Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture

Jean Kummer of PA Department of Agriculture, +1-717-787-5085