March 15, 2010
Taskforce planned to fight emerald ash borer
The emerald ash borer (EAB) has been detected in four locations in the Niagara Region.
The CFIA is considering amending the Ministerial Order for the cities of Hamilton and Toronto and the Regional Municipalities of Durham, York, Peel and Halton to include Niagara Region. This means that movement of regulated ash articles and firewood would be permitted throughout this continuous area from Durham to Niagara.
The CFIA says it expects to establish an EAB taskforce to facilitate joint federal, provincial, municipal, industry and other stakeholder consultation and co-operation. The taskforce would develop a longer term strategy to help reduce both the potential impact and spread of EAB in Canada. It is expected that this initiative will begin in the coming months.
Under the Plant Protection Act, CFIA is responsible for preventing pests of quarantine significance from entering or spreading within Canada. The CFIA’s current efforts are focused on regulating movement of infested articles, such as nursery stock, felled ash trees, ash yard waste, rough ash lumber, ash packaging and firewood; surveying to detect new infestations, and raising public awareness and compliance with movement restrictions. The goal is to protect the health of Canada’s trees and forests and to prevent economic losses to the nursery, lumber and tourism industries and municipalities.
Once tree decline becomes severe, the City will remove trees to allow space for newly planted and existing trees to grow.
The CFIA is considering amending the Ministerial Order for the cities of Hamilton and Toronto and the Regional Municipalities of Durham, York, Peel and Halton to include Niagara Region. This means that movement of regulated ash articles and firewood would be permitted throughout this continuous area from Durham to Niagara.
The CFIA says it expects to establish an EAB taskforce to facilitate joint federal, provincial, municipal, industry and other stakeholder consultation and co-operation. The taskforce would develop a longer term strategy to help reduce both the potential impact and spread of EAB in Canada. It is expected that this initiative will begin in the coming months.
Under the Plant Protection Act, CFIA is responsible for preventing pests of quarantine significance from entering or spreading within Canada. The CFIA’s current efforts are focused on regulating movement of infested articles, such as nursery stock, felled ash trees, ash yard waste, rough ash lumber, ash packaging and firewood; surveying to detect new infestations, and raising public awareness and compliance with movement restrictions. The goal is to protect the health of Canada’s trees and forests and to prevent economic losses to the nursery, lumber and tourism industries and municipalities.
Ottawa
According to the Ottawa Citizen, the city is preparing to enter into the second phase of the Emerald Ash Borer Management Strategy. In the first phase, trees were planted in areas with severe ash tree decline. During the second phase, infested trees have been identified for removal based on a city-wide EAB monitoring program. Removal takes place during winter months when the insect is not active. It is anticipated that Ottawa will lose thousands of ash trees over the next 10 to 15 years due to EAB.Once tree decline becomes severe, the City will remove trees to allow space for newly planted and existing trees to grow.