EAB strategy

[SolarAndWood]

I can tell you from down here in North West Ohio, this thing will kill them all. I have a hard time finding any survivors. I would think in about 10 years they could start planting the Ash again because all the bugs will be gone. Just a thought.

That is all I have read, complete devastation. That is what made me wonder why they don't recommend complete liquidation in mature stands? Seems like if anything you want to get rid of all the big stuff that attracts them and hope they are gone by the time the little ones grow.

 

[woodsmaster]

Sell all you can as soon as you can, then get cutting firewood. There will be the tops and a lot of smaller trees they probably wont take. (lots of firewood !)

 

[Norsk]

I'm a forester that has spent the last 10 years working and an arborist and have worked with EAB. The beetle only attacks the active phloem and barely scratches the xylem. Nice ash logs can be easily turned into great lumber once infected because the infested areas are removed anyways. Multiple treatment options exist for high value trees. These include both trunk injection, soil applied, and trunk sprays (all with a systemic insecticide).

For firewood producers or those that need to move ash wood in the near future, each state deals with quarantines differently. Recently, Ohio open the entire state up for firewood transportation due to the spread. Removing ash as a forest management strategy is a whole different topic and depends greatly on the species and soil compositions.

 

[SolarAndWood]

I'm a forester that has spent the last 10 years working and an arborist and have worked with EAB. The beetle only attacks the active phloem and barely scratches the xylem. Nice ash logs can be easily turned into great lumber once infected because the infested areas are removed anyways.

So the logic against complete liquidation is to leave the healthy stock in a mature woods as long as possible to maximize value? That would mean then the risk to the landowner is not being able to get the logs out of the woods and to the mill in time after the stand is infected? Maybe another strategy in between doing nothing and complete liquidation is only to take the prime logs out now and then pick away at the rest for firewood over the next 5 to 10 years or longer? Maybe something like 16 inches and above? I assume then the argument is that benefit of the additional growth far outweighs any benefit of removing all active phloem from the property before EAB shows up in earnest?

 

[Norsk]

Correct. It is difficult to forecast when infestations will begin to occur. The majority of infestations currently occur near major transportation corridors. It is possible that 10-30 years will pass before outlying areas deal with EAB. For areas were infestations are greater then 10-30 miles away leaving trees in today will result in additional growth for years to come. An infestation is recognized 3-5 years after the beetles begin to feed on the phloem. Once you identify an infested tree the activity has been happening for many years. Once the tree is showing signs of infestation you have ample time (at least 1 year if not 3 depending on the stage of infestation) to remove it and still receive full value for the tree.

If you are considering the sale of timber for lumber the consideration should be placed on market value at the time, not the concern of losing complete value due to infestation. Ash values may already be decreased in some areas due to speculation that volume will be high in the near future.

To my knowledge, every state that has a quarantine does not allow the movement of any ash firewood. States have certifications for firewood producers to move the wood once trained to identify infested wood. These quarantines are usually county wide and in the case of Ohio, they lifted the quarantine 6 years after it was installed. I would keep the firewood standing unless I know the wood needs to leave the county.

 

[SolarAndWood]

Thank you kindly for the explanation. It sounds like I can dial back my strategy and implement it methodically over a number of years. This should allow me to keep the roads in the woods smaller and keep the mess under control. I had the cull removed 5 years ago as it was high-graded 20 years ago. I'd like to get it to feeling like a park as opposed to a logging operation.

Is it practical for a small landowner to detect EAB any way other than watching the trees?

 

[Norsk]

To date, the best way identify an infestation prior to canopy decline is the presence of woodpecker feeding. If you notice dime to quarter size feeding locations (were park has been pecked away) then take a real close look. The D shaped exit holes are very, very small and each year they disappear as the new phloem crushes into the bark tissue. EAB will begin to feed on the upper limbs. Look for wood pecker activity on limbs 4-8 inches in diameter. This is the method used by foresters as the wood peckers can locate the larvae way before we can.

 

[SolarAndWood]

Great, thanks again.

 

[woodsmaster]

Once I noticed them in my woods I had a year till all the ash were dead. I wouldn't count on the trees lasting 3 years. I would log them sooner than later. They WILL get the eab and I would be willing to bet money that it wont
be long. Some day ash will be worth a lot becouse there will be no harvestable size trees. Maybe save some of the lumber to sell in the future.

 

[firefighterjake]

Not to derail this thread, but here is what Maine has come up to combat this problem . . . I'm thinking it is more of a publicity stunt/feel good exercise more than being very practical. On the other hand I'm thinking maybe I should see if my brother-in-law in CT can't come up with some punky, crappy wood to haul up to Maine in exchange for some good wood.

(broken link removed to http://www.onlinesentinel.com/news/Firewood-exchange-in-Kittery-slated-for-this-week.html)