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Sunday, March 20, 2011

Emerald ash borer seminar to be Mar. 22

HOUGHTON -- The SLow Ash Mortality pilot project (SLAM) will hold a free public seminar next week on insecticide options and other treatments for ash trees threatened by the invasive emerald ash borer. The seminar is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 22, 2011, in the U.J. Noblet Forestry Building, Hesterberg Hall Room G002 at Michigan Tech.

Associate Professor Andrew Storer and colleagues from Michigan Tech's School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science and from the Michigan Departments of Agriculture and of Natural Resource and Environment will summarize the results of work done by the federally funded five-county project during the 2010 field season, outline plans for the 2011 field season and discuss insecticide options suitable for homeowners and licensed professional applicators. Management options for woodlot owners will also be covered.

The speakers will give a brief overview of the efforts being used to slow the rate at which ash trees die as a result of infestation, along with the latest quarantine information for Houghton and Keweenaw Counties.

The SLAM project has been trapping emerald ash borers to determine their distribution and implementing various treatments to manage populations of this pest.

SLAM is funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). It operates in Houghton, Keweenaw, Mackinac, Delta and Schoolcraft counties in the Upper Peninsula. The project is a collaborative effort of Michigan Technological University, Michigan State University, the Michigan Departments of Agriculture and of Natural Resources and Environment, the US Forest Service and the US Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

Storer and colleagues identified the first emerald ash borer found in Houghton County in an abandoned cemetery in Laurium in the summer of 2008. They estimate that the insect has been here for six to eight years. SLAM identified the first of the invasive beetles in Keweenaw County in fall 2010. The emerald ash borer so far has been found in fifteen states and two Canadian provinces.

Pre-registration for the free seminar is preferred, but registration at the door will also be accepted. Michigan certified pesticide applicators, arborists and certified foresters may earn continuing education credits.

To preregister or ask questions, contact Anne Collins, ahcollin@mtu.edu, 906-231-2312.

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