FAIRMONT — The Minnesota Department of Agriculture recently confirmed the presence of emerald ash borer at Heritage Acres, an agricultural interpretive center in Fairmont.

This is believed to be the first time EAB, an invasive insect species lethal to all species of North American ash trees, was found in Fairmont. The insects can spread by flying short distances or by being transported in infested firewood.

First found in Minnesota in 2009, EAB has been confirmed in 35 of 87 Minnesota counties. It has killed hundreds of millions of asha trees in the United States. Minnesota has more than one billion ash trees, the most in the U.S.

In an interview with the Fairmont Sentinel, the city’s public works director said the discovery was not surprising.

“EAB is very destructive. It’s going to require a lot of effort to start to tackle all the ash trees in the community, but we knew it was coming,” said Troy Nemmers, who is also the city engineer.

EAB was first found in Martin County in 2019, north of Welcome and has been close enough to spread to Fairmont for several years.

Due to the presence of EAB, the state’s Department of Agriculture quarantined Martin County, restricting the movement of firewood, ash trees and ash products.

The MDA confirmed EAB in Nicollet and Redwood counties for the first time in November 2021.

An MDA employee was surveying for EAB near reported infestations in Brown County and noticed ash trees with signs of EAB at Sailors and Soldiers Park Campground in Sanborn, Redwood County; and in Lafayette Township, Nicollet County, across the Minnesota River from New Ulm.

Since it was the first time EAB was identified in Nicollet and Redwood counties, the MDA enacted emergency quarantines to limit firewood movement and ash material out of the counties.

Once infested with EAB, trees may show foliage loss, woodpecker holes from woodpeckers looking for EAB larvae, cracking bark, and s-shaped tunnels under bark. Trees may be saved as long as more than 30% of their canopies remain.

MDA staff find live EAB larvae and collected samples for federal identification.

EABs typically fly from May 1 to September 30. Infected trees should not be removed during that period because doing so would spread EAB further.

If residents believe they have an ash trees infested with EAB, they can email the MDA at arrest.the.pest@state.umn.us or leave voicemail at 888-545-6684.

For more information, visit www.mda.state.mn.us/eab.

(Fritz Busch can be emailed at fbusch@nujournal.com.)