Imported firewood a pathway for invaders
Plant diseases and insects can hitch a ride on firewood imported into Eastern Oregon
Sunday, September 28, 2008 12:15 AM PDT
BAKER CITY (AP) — One way to protect Oregon from invasive species is to buy firewood cut locally.
The Oregon Department of Agriculture says insect pests and plant diseases can travel a long way with firewood before it is burned.
‘‘Firewood is becoming more and more a major pathway for moving invasive species, and that’s not a good thing,’’ says Dan Hilburn, administrator of the Oregon Department of Agriculture’s Plant Division and member of the Oregon Invasive Species Council.
The concern over firewood is stronger this year, largely because of emerald ash borer spread.
The insect has caused extensive damage and has killed millions of ash trees in Michigan and parts of Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, and Ontario, Canada.
The exotic wood-boring pest originally came from Asia and is believed to have entered the United States for the first time in the 1990s.
It was first discovered in the Detroit area in 2002 and officials say it probably arrived in wood packing crates.
Even though Oregon is about 2,000 miles away from the Great Lakes region, agriculture officials say the pest can show up via firewood brought to Oregon by visiting campers and new residents from back east.
Hilburn said places that have invasive species problems like sudden oak death, the emerald ash borer or the Asian longhorned beetle have lots of dying trees.
‘‘The beetles and diseases are showing up hundreds of miles from any local infestation as people take the wood with them or sell it far from the source,’’ Hilburn said.
He said the firewood may look like it’s dead, but the bugs and diseases inside are very much alive.
Even firewood that is split into small pieces may contain insects or disease. If firewood is stored for any great length of time, beetles can bore out, and plant diseases can release spores.
Some Oregonians say they are already cautious about how they handle firewood.
Barney Walton of Baker City sells firewood for $150 per cord split and delivered within Baker City or for $1 per mile extra outside Baker City.
While ticks, carpenter ants and black stink bugs can be a problem in some forested areas of Northeastern Oregon, Walton said he and other professional woodcutters strive to steer clear of infested areas.
‘‘In the areas I’ve been cutting wood, I haven’t seen any ticks and I haven’t seen any on myself ,’’ Walton said. ‘‘Some of the tamarack has a stink bug on it, but it is not harmful to humans.’’
While the spread of invasive species from imported firewood is a major concern, Oregonians should also be aware that pests like ticks that pose human health threats can also be transported on firewood from one side of the state to the other.
‘‘The take home message to Oregonians is to buy their firewood locally and burn it locally,’’ Hilburn said.
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Information from: Baker City Herald, http://www.bakercityherald.com/
