Situation Update EAB

Date and Time Completed: July 9, 2020 9:00 AM Update Period: January 29, 2020 to July 8, 2020 New Finds

• Current EAB Status Map, www.mda.state.mn.us/eabstatus

Survey

• Faribault, MN (Rice County) Found within city at commercial property parking lot near downtown area. Find is about 10 miles north of previous find in Medford, MN (Steele County). • Racine, MN (Mower County) Found along roadside of Hwy 63 about 5 miles from previous find in Stewartville, MN. • New city finds within already quarantined counties: Bethel (Anoka), Columbus (Anoka), Jordan (Scott) Regulatory

NOTICE: No Regulated Articles are legally allowed to move outside of a quarantine (untreated or treated), unless they are accompanied by a certificate or limited permit. Certificates and limited permits are only available when a compliance agreement is signed between the Minnesota Department of Agriculture and the firm interested in moving the regulated article.

• Current Formal Quarantine • 23 Counties are now under EAB Quarantine o Two newest counties, Rice (March) and Mower (April) o Both are in Emergency Quarantine at this time, due to the Coronavirus Pandemic we have not been able to hold a public meeting. o Rice County was discovered after a city worker had attended the MDA Field Workshop on EAB identification. • Compliance Agreement Holders o 34 Active EAB Compliance Agreements o Mitigation methods - Mulch, firewood, composting, lumber, safeguarding • MDA Heat Treatment Certified means the company operates a kiln that has passed a rigorous inspection and testing process and has successfully demonstrated the ability to heat their firewood to a minimum core temperature of 140˚F for 60 minutes OR Heat Treatment for Various Wood Pests, 160⁰F for 75 minutes. • These firewood producers are certified for selling firewood based on treatment standards set by both the MDA and the Department of Agriculture. You can view the list of MDA Certified Firewood Producers at www.mda.state.mn.us/plants/pestmanagement/firewood/firewooddealers o Emily Forest Products, JN Firewood, Leroy Haniger “The Firewood Man”, Paul’s Fireplace Wood Inc, Price Firewood, Sunset Firewood Company, TSL Firewood, Wood Chuckers Firewood LLC, Minnesota Firewood LLC. • EAB Regulatory contact information o Danielle DeVito – Plant Health Specialist [email protected] 507-384-1129, contact Danielle for all EAB quarantine questions and EAB compliance agreements o David Simmons – Plant Health Specialist [email protected] 320-808-9357, contact David for all heat treatment certification of firewood o Dan Born – Enforcement Specialist [email protected] 651-201-6174

Outreach

MDA

• EAB biology, detection and management workshops o Medford, MN held 3/2/20 – 3/3/20 (6 sessions, 34 attendees) o Wargo Nature Center, Lino Lakes, MN held 3/10/20 – 3/11/20 (6 sessions, 37 attendees) o Worthington, MN – Canceled due to Covid-19 (3/24/20 – 3/25/20) • EAB Regional Meeting in Brainerd, MN – Canceled due to Covid-19 (3/30/20) • EAB forest management webinar with DNR and U of M Extension held 4/7/20 (100+ attendees) • Rochester Arborist Workshop 2/20/2020 - Staffed a booth at an event for people in the forestry/tree care industry with over 125 attendants • MDA contracted with an advertising firm who is handling all of the EAB/Don’t Move Firewood outreach. • Plant Pest Insider articles about EAB are typically sent out monthly. • Printed the EAB Look-alike handout. If you need copies of EAB handouts please request them by email [email protected]

Upcoming MDA Outreach

• September 15 - Emerald Ash Borer: Current Status, Trends, and New Resources for Landowners and Managers through the Univeristy of Minnesota Sustainable Forests Education Cooperative & University of Minnesota Extension Webinar Series, sfec.cfans.umn.edu/2020-webinar-sep

DNR

• Some DNR foresters are including information/fact sheet on EAB in the Woodland Stewardship Plans they write for private landowners. • Some DNR foresters are conducting field checks to determine if a landowner’s woods have EAB. No EAB was detected for checks on southwest and central Minnesota. • DNR Grant Update – many cities postponed grant activities scheduled in the spring due to partial government shut down. o Preparing for EAB: eligible activities include tree inventory, management plans with an EAB component, ash tree and stump removal, and tree replacement. These cities have begun grant work: ▪ Columbia Heights ▪ Duluth ▪ Kellogg ▪ Moorhead ▪ New Ulm o EAB Community Forest Response Tree Planting: eligible activities include tree planting and equipment and materials needed to plant trees. These cities have begun grant work: ▪ Hutchinson ▪ Mendota Heights ▪ Sauk Centre ▪ Winona Biologoical Control

• Results from yellow pan trapping in the summer of 2019 came back from Juli Gould at APHIS. Yellow pan trapping efforts resulted in the recovery of two adult Tetrastichus planipennisi from a new location in Farmers Park in Winona County near Lewiston. The native parasitoid, Atanycolus spp., was recovered from Battle Creek, Farmers Park, and Park. • Winter sampling activities were completed for the 2019-2020 winter. Bark samples were collected from eight locations including White Water WMA and for intensive sampling. Samples were taken from live ash trees showing symptoms of EAB infestation at each site by using a draw knife to remove the outer layer of bark from the stem of the tree. Samples were dried, sieved and inspected under a dissection scope for healthy EAB eggs and eggs suspected of parasitism by Oobius agrili. Site Name Latitude Longitude Number of Number of EAB Samples Collected Eggs Recovered Fort Snelling 44.88491 -93.18779 26 340 White Water WMA 44.184495 -91.990792 27 63 Battle Creek 44.93037 -93.02206 10 28 MN Valley National 44.85824 -93.21815 10 13 Wildlife Refuge Reservoir Woods 45.00171 -93.13357 10 2 Houston Control 43.56971 -91.23684 8 0 Houston Release 43.52080 -91.23666 1 0 Hartley Park 46.76767 -92.13855 1 3

• Only one egg suspected of parasitism was recovered during this field season. The egg was recovered from Reservoir Woods and will be sent to Toby Petrice with USDA APHIS for identification as shipping during the winter season was impacted by COVID-19. • Whole tree sampling was completed in attempt to recover both larval parasitoids Tetrastichus planipennisi and Spathius galinae from White Water WMA and Fort Snelling State Park. A minimum of 10 whole trees showing signs of EAB infestation with a diameter at breast height of 2-4 inches were felled and debarked at each location. EAB gallery conditions were recorded and inspected for signs of parasitism and larval mortality.

Site Latitude Longitude Number of Number of Number of T. Trees Sampled Trees with T. planipennisi planipennisi clutches Fort Snelling 44.88491 -93.18779 18 2 3 White Water WMA 44.184495 -91.990792 15 0 0

• The decrease in parasitoids as well as EAB larvae may have been a result of the extremely cold temperatures we experienced in the 2018 to 2019 winter. • Biological control releases for the 2020 season began on June 5, 2020 and will continue until mid-September. Releases are being conducted at 7 locations in the state. The USDA rearing facility is operating at half capacity due to COVID 19 and is scaling back production of Tetrastichus planipennisi to focus on production of Spathius galinae.

Site Latitude Longitude Dodge Nature Center 44.89137 -93.09928 Blackhawk Park 44.81625 -93.18637 44.53670 -92.34116 McCarthy Lake WMA 44.25693 -91.96795 Grand Lake 45.44626 -94.32870 Rice Creek Chain-County Park 45.17528 -93.10537 Creek Park 45.14215 -93.42419

• Rice Creek and Elm Creek are receiving parasitoids beyond the typical two-year recommendation of releases to reach the threshold of Spathius Galinae required to establish based on new findings from the USDA APHIS rearing facility that supplies the parasitoids. • MDA is planning on continuing releasing parasitoids after the LCCMR research project ends this year. The USDA program would like new release sites selected by December. MDA will begin scouting new sites in the fall. • Release Site Characteristics o Parasitoid-release sites are typically in forested areas, woodlots, wooded wetlands, and riparian zones that will not be harvested or developed in at least 5 years. o Sites should be at least 40 acres in size or have a high density of ash and corridors that connect to other wooded areas. o Sites should consist of 25 percent ash or higher with varying size slass. o EAB must be present in the environment to release parasitoids as they need EAB to complete their life cycle. Low to moderate EAB infestations are preferred so that the ash trees won’t be killed before parasitoids are established and dispersed. • Chris Mallet [email protected] 651-201-6249