8-6-13 eab in dodge and fdl counties

Emerald ash borer has been found at Mauthe Lake in Fond du Lac County, and in Watertown's Riverside Park in Dodge County.  As a result, Dodge County will be quarantined. Part of Watertown also lies in Jefferson County, which  is already under quarantine for EAB because of its proximity to infestations in neighboring counties.  Fond du Lac County has been under quarantine for emerald ash borer since 2008, because of its  proximity to infestations in neighboring Washington County. However, this is the first time the treekilling  insect pest has been found in Fond du Lac County.

Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources staff found an adult beetle in a trap set at the Mauthe Lake  campground in the Northern Unit of Kettle Moraine State Forest. They submitted the beetle to the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection for initial identification, and U.S. Department of Agriculture officials in Michigan confirmed that it was EAB.  DNR staff will remove a number of unhealthy-looking ash trees in the immediate area, and will  examine them for signs of EAB. The pest poses a minimal threat on most of the 30,000-acre Northern Unit, because it contains few ash trees. Ash trees make up more than a quarter of the trees on 3,000 acres, and EAB will likely have greater impact there.  The Dodge County find was also caught in a monitoring trap that had been set along the Rock River in  Riverside Park just north of the Dodge-Jefferson county line. There was no obvious damage to trees nearby.  For Fond du Lac County, the find does not change anything from a regulatory standpoint, since the county is already under quarantine. The Dodge County quarantine will be put in place by Wisconsin emergency rule until a federal quarantine can be enacted.  The quarantine prohibits wood products from being moved out of the county to areas that are not infested. For private citizens, this means that they cannot take firewood from Fond du Lac County or Dodge County to non-quarantine counties. For businesses handling wood products that could carry EAB, it means that they must work with DATCP to assure that their products are pest-free before shipping.  Visitors to the state forest are reminded that they can bring in firewood only if they buy it within 25 miles of the campground, or if it carries the DATCP-certified label.