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Department of Agriculture, Trade and
Consumer Protection crew member Rob Schneider of Manitowoc
scrapes off the old bark on a fresh cut down tree in the
garage at the Richfield Village Hall on Tuesday. He was
checking the tree for emerald ash borers, but did not find
any.
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WEST BEND - State officials are determined to protect Wisconsin
trees from a tiny Asian beetle that has killed more than 20 million
ash trees in the nation.
In October 2006, a plant pest and disease specialist with the
state Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP)
began surveying and girdling trees along the right-of-way in
Farmington, Trenton, Jackson and German-town townships in search of
the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB). The girdled trees act as a lure, making
it easier to detect the beetle.
The beetle’s larval form spends its life feeding beneath the
bark of ash trees, damaging and killing the tree.
Mick Skwarok, plant pest and disease specialist with the DATCP,
said crews are returning to take the trees down and peel the bark.
The felling and peeling will cease by the end of April, Skwarok
said.
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