Federal money to fight emerald ash borer
By the NORTHWEST HERALD
The U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee earmarked an additional $30 million in federal money in 2008 to help combat and prevent the spread of emerald ash borer.
The announcement came in the same month that officials confirmed the first cases of emerald ash borer in McHenry County.
The emerald ash borer is a small green beetle that kills ash trees by burrowing into their bark and destroying the trees’ ability to feed itself. An Algonquin man discovered the beetle in some of his trees in early July, and last week Algonquin Parks and Forestry Superintendent Steve Ludwig announced that 42 additional cases of the beetle had been confirmed around Algonquin.
Emerald ash borer infestations also have been reported in Cook, DuPage, Kane, LaSalle, and Will counties.
“The recent news that the emerald ash borer has made its way to Chicago is troubling,” said U.S Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee.
“With more than 131 million ash trees in Illinois and comprising about 20 percent of the trees in the Chicago area, providing funding to tackle this infestation has never been more important.”
The appropriations bill includes $32.5 million for nationwide efforts to combat the bug, an increase of $30.7 million from last year’s Agriculture Appropriations bill.
The farm bill signed into law last month authorized a loan program designed to help municipalities defray the costs of invasive species management, including surveying, removing and replacing infested trees.
