The WI Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection has detected emerald ash borer for the first time in Pierce County. This is the first new county detection of 2019 for Wisconsin. There have also been finds this year in 46 new municipalities in counties where EAB had already been detected previously.
On July 1, a tree service company reported to the River Falls city arborist that they had removed a symptomatic tree with larval galleries, heavy woodpecker flecking, epicormic sprouts and canopy dieback. Department of Natural Resources staff subsequently collected a dead adult beetle. USDA-APHIS confirmed on July 29 that it was EAB.
To date, we have found EAB in 52 of the state’s 72 counties. The entire state is now part of the federally quarantined area, so there will be no regulatory changes as a result of this find.
You can find EAB detection maps for Wisconsin and the nation here.