Asian longhorned beetle (ALB) was discovered in Worcester, Mass., last August. Since then, a quarantine was imposed over some 65 square miles across five communities, and a program to remove as many as 6,000 maples and other hardwoods and chemically treat hundreds of uninfested specimens has gotten underway.
A recent Forest Pest Update from Vermont Forests Parks & Recreation points out that Worcester is less than 50 miles from the Vermont border — and the largest maple syrup economy in the country.
That's scary.
But the Worcester Telegram & Gazette News recently carried a little piece that made me sad too. In the February 24 online version of the paper, they wrote:
"Do you or your family have a special tree identified for cutting by federal officials because it is infested with Asian longhorned beetles? Before the tree is gone, celebrate its life by sharing the story of its meaning with other readers. Send us a picture of the tree with the people for whom the tree is memorable and briefly tell us why the tree is important. Please also include your name, where you live, what kind of tree it is, when it was planted and by whom — if you know."
I'll bet many of you have such a special tree, or two, or three. And that you can empathize with the losses the citizens of Worcester are suffering — the loss of cool shade, of bird song and squirrel chatter, of brilliant fall foliage, or snow-covered twigs. The loss of history. The loss of friends.
I know I can chart my own passage by the trees I?ve loved, from the redbud we climbed as children in southern Illinois, my first blooming tulip poplar in Central Park, an enormous American sycamore in a Philadelphia suburb, the butternut in our Fairfax, Vt. backyard, to the behemoth white pine beneath which the boletes grow in the woods east of our home.
I'd like to think many of these old friends have lots of years left in them. And they probably are safe from beetle attack. None of these species are on the insect?s preferred food list.
But all our maples are.
We all know that much of our settled lands are dominated by sugar maple — along dirt roads, on property lines, in the yard, and in the sugar bush. Much of our wild lands too are dominated by this tree. With beech and yellow birch, sugar maple is the most common species in the northern hardwood forests that cloak so much of lower elevation Vermont.
Is there anything we can do to keep our region free of this invasive insect?
The state of Vermont very strongly discourages importing firewood. If you buy logs, chunks, or split wood, ask your supplier where the wood came from. Make sure it is safe. Should you buy nursery stock from out of state, insist it be certified ALB-free.
Keep your eyes open for infestations. Shallowly excavated egg deposit sites and larval exit holes can be nearly the size of a dime. They're easy to see.
Learn what the insect looks like. (Be aware that it has a couple of common look-alikes.) If you see something worrisome, report it to the Rutland Forests, Parks and Recreation office at 802 786-3851. It could make a difference. It was the sighting of an adult beetle that alerted Worcester to its presence there.
Shelly Stiles is the district manager of the Bennington County Conservation District, whose mission is promoting rural livelihoods and protecting natural resources in southwestern Vermont. Web site at www.bccdvt.org.
This column appeared in the Bennington Banner in March 2009, as one of the BCCD's Conservation Currents pieces, a bi-weekly feature written by BCCD board and staff members since August 2006.