A ban on freely transporting wood from areas of Maine infested by emerald ash borer will remain in effect after tribal governments and conservation groups protested a state plan to ease restrictions.
State Horticulturist Gary Fish said a proposal to end a quarantine aimed at slowing spread of the invasive insect attracted more than 80 public comments. Nearly all urged the state to keep the quarantine.
“So it was an easy decision for the [Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry] commissioner to just decide that we would keep the quarantine going,” Fish said.
Emerald ash borer was first discovered in Maine in 2018, and the quarantine has extended to every county except for Washington County. The insect tunnels into native ash trees, cuts off water and nutrients and can kill a host within five years, according to the forest service.
This summer, after ash borer was discovered in the Aroostook County town of Benedicta, the state said ash borer populations in northern and southern Maine had merged, and the quarantine was no longer effective.
But the move met with pushback from conservation groups, land trusts and Wabanaki Nations that rely on ash wood for traditional basketmaking.
Under the rules, it’s against the law to transport hardwood firewood from quarantine zones into areas that are not infested. Lumber companies and finished wood manufacturers also need state certification to move products between infested areas.
Fish said the forest service will continue enforcing the ban, although it will remain a challenge to stop ash borer from spreading further in the state.
“Basically, what keeps moving emerald ash borer are people moving firewood, and we have so many visitors to Maine that don’t understand that their firewood is potentially infested and spreading emerald ash borer and maybe some other forest killing pests,” Fish added.
This story appears through a media partnership with Maine Public.