The Kansas Department of Agriculture’s plant protection and weed control program will follow the USDA’s lead and remove the quarantine on emerald ash borers.

The move is a change in the state’s approach to stopping the spread of the emerald ash borer beetle. In December, the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service published a final rule to remove the federal domestic EAB quarantine regulations. As a result, KDA will lift quarantines on EAB that have been in place for 10 counties in eastern Kansas. Instead, the state will focus its efforts on education, outreach, surveying and biocontrol.

The emerald ash borer is a destructive pest of North American ash trees. It is native to Asia and was first discovered in North America in 2002 in the Detroit area. Since then, it has killed millions of ash trees and caused thousands more to be removed to slow its spread. Local quarantines were established to prohibit movement of ash trees and other related items, but those quarantines have been largely ineffective in preventing the spread of the pest.

KDA will continue to survey and monitor for EAB and will direct available resources toward nonregulatory options for management and containment of the pest, including collaborative efforts with industry organizations to educate communities about the threat of EAB and participation in biological control opportunities available through USDA APHIS.

The county EAB quarantines will lift March 1 — almost two months after the USDA APHIS rule, which went into effect in mid-January. Counties that had been under quarantine include Atchison, Doniphan, Douglas, Jackson, Jefferson, Johnson, Leavenworth, Miami, Shawnee and Wyandotte.

Comments regarding the change in the state’s EAB management plan can be shared before Feb. 20 by emailing [email protected]. If you have questions, call the KDA plant protection and weed control program at 785-564-6700. Read more about EAB in Kansas at agriculture.ks.gov/eab.

Source: Kansas Department of Agriculture, which is solely responsible for the information provided and is wholly owned by the source. Informa Business Media and all its subsidiaries are not responsible for any of the content contained in this information asset.