The state of Vermont announced on February 27, 2018, that emerald ash borer (EAB) has been detected in a remote area of Orange County. State and federal investigators are searching the area to determine the extent of the infestation.
A detection in Vermont was not a surprise and had been expected based on the biology of the insect, the relative ease with which people spread it, and the current known distribution. Vermont was surrounded on all sides by EAB-infested states and provinces.
This detection does not significantly alter New Hampshire's approach to EAB detection, quarantine, or outreach. The EAB program in New Hampshire is informed by what is happening in surrounding states, but decisions are data driven by what is known about EAB populations in New Hampshire and the at-risk ash resource in New Hampshire.
EAB has not been detected in the New Hampshire counties that adjoin Vermont. Those counties have been, and will continue to be targeted for detection activities (both with traps and visual surveys), and survey efforts will continue in those counties. There may be an alteration in the deployment of traps to increase numbers along the Vermont border.
Vermont and the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture haven't yet announced plans for quarantine areas in Vermont. Until informed otherwise, industries in New Hampshire should be aware that it remains illegal to move hardwood firewood, ash logs, ash chips, ash nursery stock, and related products into Vermont from New Hampshire's five quarantined counties unless the entity has a compliance agreement with the USDA to do so, and then movement is only to EAB-certified entities in Vermont.
As Vermont makes and announces quarantine decisions, that information will be relayed to interested parties in New Hampshire.
New Hampshire agencies will provide assistance to counterparts in Vermont as requested.
For the most up-to-date information on EAB in New Hampshire, or to report a potential sighting, visit www.NHBugs.org.
And, remember that when it comes to firewood, buy it where you burn it.
