Infestation prevention hits wall as state runs out of cash

The Bay City Times updates the story regarding the emerald ash borer infestation discovered in Iosco County:

Help may arrive too late to prevent emerald ash borer beetles from spreading beyond an infested area on the Iosco-Alcona county border, a state agriculture official said this week. "We won't do anything before the beetle starts flying - it's unfortunate," said Larry Perreault, a supervisor at the Michigan Department of Agriculture's Saginaw regional office.

With just three weeks or so until the voracious insects begin emerging, the state doesn't have enough money to complete its program of cutting down ash trees to try to stem the spread of the bugs, Perreault said. The Agriculture Department is using what federal money it does have to cut trees in the outlying areas near the Michigan border and near the Mackinac Bridge. The hope is to prevent ash borers from leaving the Lower Peninsula, he said.

Right now, there are no specific plans to cut trees in the infested area on the Iosco-Alcona border, or at two sites in Sanilac County and one site in Midland County, near Coleman, he said.