Emerald ash borer in Falcon Heights

Inspectors from the Minnesota Department of Agriculture found a tree infested with the emerald ash borer on the campus of the University of Minnesota Tuesday. The tree appeared healthy, suggesting that the infestation is recent. But the ash borer has actually been in the state since 2006, according to testing done in May by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Since the infested tree is only a mile away from the first confirmed infestation, it's safe to say that the ash borer doesn't move very fast, which is good news. A quarantine is already in place in Hennepin, Ramsey, and Houston counties. But this discovery does indicate that the bugs are on the move, a bad sign for Minnesota's ash trees. The city of Falcon Heights may now begin using a $1 million fund for emergency eradication situations.

The emerald ash borer is a tiny beetle native to Asia and first discovered in the U.S. (Michigan, to be exact) in 2002. The Minnesota Department of Agriculture estimates that Minnesota is home to 867 million forestland ash trees, one of the highest concentrations in the U.S. This figure does not include our substantial number of urban ash trees.


I'm worried this little bug is going to cause even more harm than Dutch Elm disease did a few years ago. We've lost way too many trees in this state. But so far all we can do is sit back and watch helplessly.

Keep a close eye on the movement of emerald ash borers around Minnesota. They may not have speed, but they leave unmistakable destruction in their wake.


Here's the Star Tribune article on this discovery.