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More Community Corner City, state, federal agencies work to stop beetle infestation
Worcester officials have been working closely with state and federal authorities to prevent the spread of the Asian longhorned beetle, a destructive species that was discovered in the city this past summer.
The beetles, which over the past dozen years have been found in New York City, Chicago and New Jersey, lay their eggs in maples and other hardwood trees. Larvae bore their way deeper into the wood before they pupate, then chew their way back out, effectively killing the tree. More than 3,200 of the insects have been discovered in Worcester, leading to the creation of a quarantine zone extending into neighboring sections of Holden, Boylston, West Boylston and Shrewsbury.
Preventing the beetles from spreading beyond the immediate area and severely damaging New England’s famed hardwood forests is expected to cost between $30 million and $35 million in the first year and perhaps a comparable amount in the second year, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture spokeswoman Suzanne Bond.
USDA officials originally suggested that state and local government shoulder about half the overall costs of containing the infestation, but softened that stance after a meeting in Washington in late September with Worcester City Manager Michael O’Brien, U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern and a Department of Conservation and Recreation official. It now appears likely that the USDA will cover the bulk of those costs.
Both the city of Worcester and the Department of Conservation and Recreation anticipate significant expenses in the form of in-kind services such as the use of DCR bucket trucks to identify infested trees.
At least four of the nine members of Worcester’s forestry division have been assigned to tasks related to preventing the spread of the beetles, according to Communications Director Christina Andreoli. The city is working to ensure that businesses such as nurseries and tree companies properly dispose of wood debris and that firewood from trees in the quarantine zone is not transported outside the area.
Worcester also has had to modify its composting process to ensure that leaves and branches are shredded in accordance with USDA protocol.
The city’s Web site (www.ci.worcester.ma.us) includes detailed guidelines for affected homeowners and businesses. The city manager’s office is also working closely with officials in the four neighboring towns that are part of the quarantine zone, Andreoli said.
The removal of trees will not begin until the weather turns cold enough to kill off adult beetles. Many healthy trees in the vicinity of infested trees will be spared and treated with an insecticide next spring.
About 8o to 90 percent of the trees in the infested section of Worcester are maples, many of which were planted following a devastating tornado that swept through the city in 1953. The city now plans to plant a wider variety of trees to make the area more resistant to potential future infestations.
In three previous instances where Asian longhorned beetles have been found in the United States, it has taken at least six years to eradicate them, according to the USDA.
More Community Corner City, state, federal agencies work to stop beetle infestation
City, state, federal agencies work to stop beetle infestation
Worcester officials have been working closely with state and federal authorities to prevent the spread of the Asian longhorned beetle, a destructive species that was discovered in the city this past summer.
The beetles, which over the past dozen years have been found in New York City, Chicago and New Jersey, lay their eggs in maples and other hardwood trees. Larvae bore their way deeper into the wood before they pupate, then chew their way back out, effectively killing the tree. More than 3,200 of the insects have been discovered in Worcester, leading to the creation of a quarantine zone extending into neighboring sections of Holden, Boylston, West Boylston and Shrewsbury.
Preventing the beetles from spreading beyond the immediate area and severely damaging New England’s famed hardwood forests is expected to cost between $30 million and $35 million in the first year and perhaps a comparable amount in the second year, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture spokeswoman Suzanne Bond.
USDA officials originally suggested that state and local government shoulder about half the overall costs of containing the infestation, but softened that stance after a meeting in Washington in late September with Worcester City Manager Michael O’Brien, U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern and a Department of Conservation and Recreation official. It now appears likely that the USDA will cover the bulk of those costs.
Both the city of Worcester and the Department of Conservation and Recreation anticipate significant expenses in the form of in-kind services such as the use of DCR bucket trucks to identify infested trees.
At least four of the nine members of Worcester’s forestry division have been assigned to tasks related to preventing the spread of the beetles, according to Communications Director Christina Andreoli. The city is working to ensure that businesses such as nurseries and tree companies properly dispose of wood debris and that firewood from trees in the quarantine zone is not transported outside the area.
Worcester also has had to modify its composting process to ensure that leaves and branches are shredded in accordance with USDA protocol.
The city’s Web site (www.ci.worcester.ma.us) includes detailed guidelines for affected homeowners and businesses. The city manager’s office is also working closely with officials in the four neighboring towns that are part of the quarantine zone, Andreoli said.
The removal of trees will not begin until the weather turns cold enough to kill off adult beetles. Many healthy trees in the vicinity of infested trees will be spared and treated with an insecticide next spring.
About 8o to 90 percent of the trees in the infested section of Worcester are maples, many of which were planted following a devastating tornado that swept through the city in 1953. The city now plans to plant a wider variety of trees to make the area more resistant to potential future infestations.
In three previous instances where Asian longhorned beetles have been found in the United States, it has taken at least six years to eradicate them, according to the USDA.
Written by MMA Associate Editor Mitch Evich
