As Memorial Day approaches and the summer camping season gets started, take a moment to think about the places that you love and how you can help to protect them. Chances are that trees make up a key component of these places. A spreading sugar maple, a towering ash; trees are vital to many of the places iconic to Vermont and New England.
Unfortunately, many of these trees are at risk from invasive tree pests, such as the emerald ash borer (EAB). This insect is native to Asia and feeds on ash trees, killing nearly 100% of the trees they attack. Since its detection in 2002, we have watched the emerald ash borer relentlessly march its way into at least twenty five US states and two Canadian provinces. Far too often this pest’s march has looked more like a hop, skip, and a jump as evidenced by its detection in Boulder County Colorado, over 600 miles from the nearest known infestation in north eastern Kansas. Research has clearly shown that this unnatural dispersal pattern is due to humans aiding the pest’s spread, largely through the transportation of firewood.
Unfortunately, the emerald ash borer is not the only tree-killing pest that can be spread in firewood. The Asian longhorned beetle feeds on over twelve different kinds of trees, including sugar maples, and can be easily moved in firewood by an unwitting camper.
But you can help to protect the places that you love from these tree-killing pests! Buy and burn only locally harvested firewood and stop giving these pests a free ride!
The rallying cry to not move firewood has been building throughout the US. There is a national Don’t Move Firewood partnership that works tirelessly to spread the word. The ethic around firewood transportation has been steadily changing, but there are still people to be reached.
This spring, the rallying cry will build stronger in Vermont as Firewood Awareness Week is hosted May 17ththrough the 23rd by UVM Extension; Vermont Department of Forests, Parks, and Recreation; Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Foods, and Markets; Green Mountain National Forest; and Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. The goals of the week are to raise awareness of the risks of moving firewood; to feature the social, economic, environmental, and personal impacts of invasive pests; and to educate the public about the upcoming state quarantine regulating the movement of firewood into Vermont.
Firewood Awareness Week will focus on two types of locations that are highly likely to be exposed to potentially infested firewood and places heavily visited by people that may be bringing firewood into Vermont: campgrounds and rest areas. At fourteen state and federal campgrounds around Vermont, threatened species (such as sugar maples, ash, and birch) will be "tagged" with orange flagging tape. These tags will create a graphic representation of the great number of trees which could be infested and killed by invasive tree pests. Signs will also be posted with information about how we can all help protect those trees by only buying and burning local firewood.
In addition to campgrounds, rest areas are also considered to be potential portals to infestation. To draw attention to this, campaign staff will host "rest area blitzes" on May 22nd at four highly trafficked rest areas around Vermont. As visitors travel for the start of the Memorial Day Weekend, they will be greeted at these rest areas with information, games, and staff to educate them about good firewood etiquette. Tree tagging will also take place at all the rest areas in Vermont.
So as you kick off your summer this Memorial Day Weekend, come visit us at a rest area or campground on May 22nd, keep an eye out for tagged trees, and commit to protecting the places you love by buying and burning only locally harvested firewood!
By Mollie Klepack, Forest Pest Outreach Coordinator, UVM Extension
Photo credit: emeraldashborer.info