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October 19, 2004Tree-destroying beetle discovered in PetoskeyFirst incidence in NW Lower MichiganByRecord-Eagle staff writer PETOSKEY - The emerald ash borer, an invasive species of beetle that has devastated trees in Southeastern Michigan, has been discovered in Petoskey. The beetle was found in a dozen trees at Hillsdale Club Apartments on East Mitchell Street. State department of agriculture officials plan to investigate the scope of the infestation, the first discovered in northwestern Lower Michigan, said Ken Rauscher, director of the department of agriculture's pesticide and plant pest division. "We will hold a series of public meetings to let property owners what we have found, let them know what we anticipate doing," he said. Eradicating the infestation could involve the removal of all ash trees within a half-mile, if the agriculture department handles the Petoskey case as it typically does in isolated infestations, Rauscher said. The emerald ash borer was discovered in southeast Michigan in July 2002. Rauscher said it's believed the beetle came to Michigan from Southeast Asia in packing materials. It infests 13 counties in southeastern Michigan and a dozen other isolated areas throughout the Lower Peninsula, Rauscher said. "We are in the process of losing what we estimate is 12 million trees in southeast Michigan that are dead or dying," he said. "This has had a very big impact on the nursery industry, a $10 million a year industry, in the Lower Peninsula." Tim Flint, the department of agriculture's emerald ash borer response coordinator, said late fall and early winter will be a good time to respond to the Petoskey infestation. "In the life cycle of the beetle, fall and winter it is in a larvae stage beneath the bark, with no movement and no further spreading," he said. "We'll search for visual symptoms of infestation, and once we determine the distribution of the beetle in the area, it will help us define a response plan." On the Web: www.michigan.gov/mda Click on "Emerald Ash Borer" link
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