It was in 2002 when we cut our first white ash that showed the D shaped holes of the Emerald Ash Borer. Yesterday I took a fellow to a spot in our woods where he could hunt deer and it is a really good spot too. It is the first time I've been to that spot since last February or March. Now we can say that we are to the point where many of our ash trees are really breaking down as I found 4 trees either down or partially down. That is, some have the tops broken off. Well, they lasted a good long time for us but sadly we won't get to all of them before Mother Nature finishes the task. But a few that are still standing I now wish I'd cut a couple years ago because they still have some size to them and I do not relish the thought of cutting them now but will have to tackle it this winter. There aren't too many of that size before we are down to all being around 12" or thereabouts. It has been quite a ride for us. We cut some into lumber. Have heated our home for over a decade. Have supplied many others with heat for many years. Have fed lots of woodpeckers and they will continue to feast as we won't get them all cut this winter. But in the end, it is really sad to see such a wonderful tree coming to an end. We know not what the future brings for ash but hopefully it will come back for our grandchildren. Still, it makes us very sad to walk through our thinning woods; it just does not look the same any more.
I hear you and empathize with you. Even some of our State Campgrounds had to cut tons of Ash trees. The sites do not look the same and it will be years before there are more trees to provide some shade.
It's gotta suck seeing all the dead trees caused by a imported bug, we have some ash, maybe I should cut them before they get bad.
Its only a matter of time till they hit the south like y'all have them up there. I think they have it in NC can't remember if there here yet in SC but we have awareness flyers all the time. Our ash are still fine obviously but it is such a small component in our forests that most will never notice or miss it. Moat don't even know what it is who are not foresters or wildlife types. Were mostly oak/hickory around here that ant darn sweet gum!
I've seen that there are some insecticides to control it. Maybe you can destroy all but a few and treat the remainder, hoping that their eventual isolation allows survival. Other than that I would certainly send any sawlogs that you can economically harverst to the mill before they get diseased. That bug is coming.
I shutter when I think about the about the EAB destroying my woods which is about 20% Ash. There is one section I call Ash Acre because it's about 90% Ash and I have been thinning that out the past several years and it really looks nice there. I am considering being more aggressive cutting Ash now.
I think that would be a good plan to start cutting the ash ahead of time. Beware transporting it too far just in case the trees are already getting affected. Here's a quote about EAB in firewood. In a follow-up study, we caged some of the previously used firewood during the winter months after EAB had emerged during the immediate past summer. We did this in order to see if any adults would emerge the second season after cutting. Although numbers were low, a few EAB did emerge, indicating that EAB can emerge from cut firewood for at least two consecutive years. From this site. http://www.nrs.fs.fed.us/disturbance/invasive_species/eab/control_management/survival_in_firewood/
Then you should be able to get all of your firewood home in log form using one of these... http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=eA5xwpvhbtY
Jack, we too had a couple areas of our woods that were around 90% or more white ash. Looks pretty barren in there now.
I wish the govt. would subsidize the treatment of the ash trees. They pay for CRP. They pay for wetlands. They have no problem paying for much worse crap IMO. Ok...no more politics. That is all.
The problem is where do you stop? Do the fund chestnut foundation, how about hemlock they have the wholly adelgid, what about the red bay bay here in the coastal plain in the south that's decimating red bay. There is gypsey moth that's defoliating entire regions, there is oak wilt that's killing oaks. What about elm's and Dutch elm disease? I mean there is a whole book of them. They fund research and other work but it takes tins of cash! Rap if you want to blanket treat the woodlands??? As a forester who has a post bachelors degree I would love to see more money go to this stuff in finding a cure or solving it. It would out many people through school and have a good outcome but..... And yes I agree there is much more stupid stuff they spend cash on.
I thought I was going to read that you are finally getting ready to burn some of that ash you cut 11 years ago. Sad news for sure Dennis, but mother nature has an incredible way of rebounding. This is just the blink of an eye in the grand scheme of things.
I say let nature run it's course. If we try and change it we'll just cause problems somewhere else. They tried to stop forest fires for years and that was a huge mistake.
But the EAB was not Mother Nature running it's course. It is a bug what we did not have on this continent. That is not Nature's way. As for getting the government involved, they did at first and wasted a lot of dollars. As for spraying, the cost is very prohibitive to do on a large scale. Well, even on a small scale.
Im afraid stuff like this is just going to get worse as time goes on with all of the trade all over the world things coming and going back and forth I know our port authority are doing their best but they cant catch everything.
Yep and how do you get third word countries to actually kiln dry or treat pallets when they say they are? And its cost prohibitive and impossible to treat all wood and cellulose that comes into the country.
Our forester has advised us to wait on the harvest of the saw logs. They don't affect the lumber and 5-10 years can mean a lot of money. That said, we are planning the thinning of the firewood trees now as the quarantine is now statewide south of the Mohawk river.
