Emerald ash borers continue to spread, this time to Thunder
Bay.
The pests are now attacking trees across all of southern Ontario up
to Algoma, Nipissing and Greater Sudbury areas as well as counties in Quebec.
Effective immediately, the movement of all ash material such
as logs, branches, and wood chips, as well as all species of firewood from the
affected site, is restricted, says the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
Other enforcement measures, such as expanding the regulated
area, may be implemented once the CFIA
completes its survey work before the end of 2016.
The Emerald ash borers are a highly destructive beetle. They
have already killed millions of ash trees in Ontario, Quebec and the United
States, and pose a major economic and environmental threat to urban and
forested areas of North America.
The CFIA
continues to work with federal, provincial, and municipal governments to slow
its spread.
China is the likely source of the North American outbreak.
There have been other pests, such as the Asian Longhorn
beetle, that come from China via wooden pallets. Those outbreaks in Ontario have
been contained and eliminated.
