SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - The Illinois Department of Agriculture has added all or part of four central Illinois counties to its emerald ash borer (EAB) quarantine to prevent the artificial spread of the destructive pest through the movement of infested wood and nursery stock.

The newly-quarantined areas include all of McLean and Woodford counties, eastern Marshall County and the portions of Livingston County not part of prior quarantine orders. The addition of these areas brings the number of impacted counties to 21 and became necessary after the beetle was discovered this summer outside the boundaries of the former quarantine.

"Purple traps set around the state to monitor for EAB detected two previously-unknown infestations in McLean County, one in Bloomington and another in Chenoa," Warren Goetsch, IDOA bureau chief of Environmental Programs, said. "The quarantine essentially was expanded to include these sites, as well as counties to the north situated between the infestations and the previously quarantined area."

The "purple trap" survey, which began last spring, involved placing 4,689 purple sticky traps in a 100-mile wide arc throughout central and northwestern Illinois and various high-risk sites in southern Illinois. The traps were removed in late summer and then analyzed for an adult life-stage of EAB.

Beetles were discovered in seven traps; three were located in LaSalle County, two in McLean and one in both Bureau and Lake. Except McLean, all counties with a positive find were already under quarantine.

The quarantine prohibits the removal of the following items:

• The emerald ash borer in any living stage of development.
• Ash trees of any size.
• Ash limbs and branches.
• Any cut, non-coniferous firewood.
• Bark from ash trees and wood chips larger than one inch from ash trees.
• Ash logs and lumber with either the bark or the outer one-inch of sapwood, or both, attached.
• Any item made from or containing the wood of the ash tree that is capable of spreading the emerald ash borer.
• Any other article, product or means of conveyance determined by the Illinois Department of Agriculture to present a risk of spreading the beetle infestation.

Anyone convicted of moving prohibited items from the quarantine area without the approval of an Illinois Department of Agriculture nursery inspector may be fined up to $500.

The emerald ash borer is a small, metallic-green beetle native to Asia. Its larvae burrow into the bark of ash trees, causing the trees to starve and eventually die. While the beetle does not pose any direct risk to public health, it does threaten the tree population. Since the emerald ash borer was first confirmed in the Midwest in the summer of 2002, it has killed tens of millions of ash trees.

How the emerald ash borer arrived in Illinois is unknown, but the department suspects it may have been transported here in contaminated firewood. To avoid the accidental introduction of the beetle to new areas, the department encourages Illinoisans to purchase only locally-grown nursery stock and locally-cut firewood. Anyone who suspects a tree has been infested is urged to contact their county Extension office or their village forester for a consultation.

The text of the full quarantine order follows:

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