Michigan expands ash borer eradication effort

5/21/2005

Michigan expanded restrictions yesterday on the movement of firewood in the effort to halt the spread of the emerald ash borer.

The ban on moving firewood out of 20 southeastern Michigan counties now applies to the entire lower peninsula, and restrictions on the movement of ash logs and lumber have been tightened.

Officials are trying to keep the Asian pest out of Michigan s heavily wooded upper peninsula, one of three potential gateways for the beetle to spread across North America and devastate billions of ash trees.

The beetle has been found in counties just south of the Mackinac Bridge.

Gov. Jennifer Granholm of Michigan and Gov. Bob Taft of Ohio declared next week as Emerald Ash Borer Awareness Week.