Suzanne Bond (301) 734-5175
Jerry Redding (202) 720-6959
USDA TREE REMOVAL PROJECT AIDS IN FIGHT AGAINST INVASIVE BEETLE
WASHINGTON, Jan. 12, 2006–The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) announced that the Asian longhorned beetle (ALB) cooperative eradication program began tree removal within a 14-block residential area of Linden, N.J., to stop the spread of this destructive and invasive pest. USDA’s integrated pest management system calls for infested trees and certain tree species that could host new populations of this tree-killing pest to be removed. The removal of 650 trees is taking place on both public streets and private property between Jan. 2 and March 1, weather permitting.
The boundaries of the work are as follows: 21st Street to the south; 13th Street to the north; Lower Road and Wood Avenue to the west; and the Conoco Phillips and the Rose Hill Cemetery properties to the east. The work takes place Monday through Friday, between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m.
Work crews typically consist of a wood chipper and truck, a crane to facilitate trunk removal and a flat bed truck for logs. Personnel from USDA’s ALB cooperative eradication program are on hand to oversee the contractor’s work and can answer residents’ questions.
Later, in spring 2006, the ALB program’s reforestation component will begin. The program will offer tree species that are not ALB hosts on a one-to-one basis—for every tree cut, a nonhost tree can be planted. Residents will have their choice of tree species from an approved list, or can opt against a replacement tree. In 2005 more than 2,100 non ALB-host trees have been planted by the ALB cooperative eradication program in Middlesex and Union counties to replace trees removed to control the pest. Of those, 385 trees were planted in the City of Linden alone.
The New Jersey ALB cooperative eradication program is a state-federal-industry partnership including the New Jersey Department of Agriculture’s Division of Plant Industry, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s Division of Forests and Parks, Rutgers University Cooperative Research and Extension Service, the Liberty Science Center in Jersey City, USDA’s Forest Service and APHIS.
The ALB, which likely hitchhiked to the United States from Asia within solid wood packing material such as crates and pallets, is a serious threat to our nation’s hardwood trees. This beetle has the potential to damage such industries as lumber, maple syrup, nursery and tourism, accumulating over $41 billion in losses. The beetle is shiny black with white spots and long antennae banded in black and white. ALBs grow and mature deep inside the heartwood of host trees during the fall and winter months and emerge as adult beetles during the spring and summer.
Residents with additional questions about the work may call the New Jersey Asian longhorned beetle cooperative eradication program at (732) 815-4700. For more information about ALB, log onto www.aphis.usda.gov. See “Hot Issues” at the bottom of the page and click on “Asian Longhorned Beetle.”
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