April 28, 2021 For more information contact: Jim Britt at: [email protected] AUGUSTA - On January 14, 2021 the federal quarantine regulations restricting the movement of the emerald ash borer (EAB) were removed by the USDA to refocus their resources on biological control of the pest. Despite the USDA's shift in emphasis, the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry (DACF) Maine Forest Service (MFS) and Plant Health Program (PHP) will continue to regulate the movement of EAB because an estimated 90 percent of Maine's ash trees remain outside of the currently regulated quarantine areas. Approximately four percent of trees in Maine's hardwood forests are ash. In addition to its roles in the forest ecosystem, white ash is a valuable timber species, green ash is an important street tree and black/brown ash is an important cultural resource for the Wabanaki Tribes. EAB threatens all these species of ash trees (but not mountain-ash, Sorbus spp.) and will have significant ecological and economic impacts on the state. There are no practical means to control EAB in forested areas, though pesticide treatments can protect individual trees. DACF continues to see opportunities to slow the spread of this devastating insect and has amended the EAB quarantine effective April 21, 2021.