Field Notes Friday: Update on EAB at Up on the Hill

This week Jason Berard, Vice President of Stewardship, visited our Up on the Hill Conservation Area and checked on the stand of black ash trees that we had treated back in 2022 to protect them against the emerald ash borer(Agrilus planipennis). Emerald ash borer (EAB) is an invasive wood boring beetle native to eastern Asia, and to help these healthy mature trees avoid an infestation, an ash borer specialist of the New Hampshire Forest Health Program and the Division of Forests and Lands treated these 12 trees with an insecticide called emamectin benzoate.
The primary long-term management approach for combating EAB in New Hampshire and across the country, is implementing a biological control program where natural enemies of EAB are imported from Asia and released in forests throughout North America. The biological control is inadequate to protect mature trees currently standing in our forests due to the rapid spike in the ash borer population during the initial wave of infestation. ​To maximize the likelihood of preserving ash, we must act now to help mature seed-bearing trees like this one using chemical treatments.
Since the initial injection of the insecticide two years ago, the treated black ash trees are still looking healthy and not affected by EAB.