Next Steps in Effort to Rid Clermont of the Asian Longhorned Beetle
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Immediate Release
May 9, 2012

 

 

Batavia, Ohio.  The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has released an Environmental Assessment (EA) regarding eradication activities for the Asian longhorned beetle (ALB) in Clermont County.  The ALB is a wood-boring invasive pest from Asia that essentially kills trees; it came into this country in solid wood packing materials, such as crates, pallets, etc.  Since the beetle was discovered in Tate and Monroe townships in 2011, over 7,000 infested trees have been removed.  The EA report released today (May 9, 2012) outlines and analyzes four alternatives for ALB eradication moving forward:
1.      No action by APHIS
2.      Removal of infested trees and high risk host trees up to ½ mile from infested trees (full host removal)
3.      Removal of infested trees with chemical treatment of high risk host trees up to ½ mile from infested trees
4.      Removal of infested host trees and a combination of removal or chemical treatment of high risk host trees.

 

Citizens are invited to access the EA document “Asian Longhorned Beetle Cooperative Eradication Program in Clermont County, Ohio, May 2012 on the website
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/plant_health/ea/alb.shtml.  Copies of the document can be obtained by contacting Dr. Brendon Reardon at Brendon.Reardon@aphis.usda.gov or at 4700 River Road, Unit 26, Riverdale, MD 20737.  Comments on the EA report will be accepted through July 9, 2012; all comments should be sent to Dr. Reardon utilizing the above contact information.  APHIS reports that after all citizen comments are received and considered, a determination of the environmental impacts regarding proposed eradication activities will be determined. 

 

While APHIS scientists believe that the ALB has not spread outside the original 56 mile quarantine zone (firewood or wood debris cannot be moved outside the area), surveys are continuing to determine the full extent of the infestation.  Within the next few weeks, ALB sniffing dogs and ALB traps will be tested in the area to determine how successful they are in locating the pest.  ALB was first detected in the United States in 1996; Ohio is the fifth state to have confirmed the existence of the destructive beetle.  For more information about the ALB, visit the website www.BeetleBusters.info.

 

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For additional information about this or other county news, contact Clermont County Communications Director Kathy Lehr at (513) 732-7597 or by e-mail, klehr@ clermontcountyohio.gov.
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