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“From what we are told by our elders, there was a great lacrosse game played a long time
ago between the animals and birds. All the animals and all the birds showed up to play.
The game lasted all day long, and in the end the animals won. What we are told is that
lacrosse game took place before there were humans. When our ancestors learned to play
the game of lacrosse, they learned to make the sticks using the wood from the ash tree.
That game of lacrosse has been played for a very long time.
Ash trees are a beautiful, integral part of the natural communities in the Lower Chippewa
River Valley in Wisconsin. According to the WI DNR there is an estimated 737 million ash
trees in Wisconsin. Their seeds provide food for moth, bird and mammal species; other
tree and shrub species thrive in the shade created by an ash tree’s canopy. The characteristics
of Ash wood also make it valuable to humans. For generations, Native Americans used black
ash wood to make baskets. The white ash, known for its durability and flexibility,
is shaped into lacrosse sticks and baseball bats. The ash trees’ existence is threatened
by a shiny green insect, no bigger than a penny.
Video/images of Ash trees, animals, baskets: When Emerald Ash Borer arrives in the LCRV,
it will greatly alter the lands ecology. Emerald Ash borer will rapidly decrease the
ash tree population, and force species who were dependent on the Ash Tree to adapt to
a new unfamiliar environment. . An invasive species is a non-native species
whose introduction does or, is likely, to cause economic or environmental harm to human
health. Following habitat destruction, invasive species are the second leading cause of biodiversity
loss around the world. When one strand of the web of life is cut, the unraveling can
spread through-out the ecosystem. The net results are a loss of diversity of our native
plants and animals, as invasive species rapidly multiply and take over. The emerald ash borer
is a species native to Asia, that was transported to American by infested wood pallets. The
first state it was brought to in the United States was Michigan, and has since been found
in the states with the red dots. Why should we care?
In Wisconsin, the lumber industry and nurseries as well as urban landscapes are impacted negatively
by the EAB. According to Poland & McCullough there is an estimated 8 billion ash trees
across the United States that has a compensatory value of $282 billion. Kovics et al. states
EAB infestation is estimated to cost $10.7 billion in the next decade in the forms of
ash treatment, Ash tree removal, and Ash tree replacement costs.
Ash species in Wisconsin’s forestlands grow on a variety of soil and sites. The numerous
ecological benefits provided by ash trees are thermal cover, browse (food), and protection
for a variety of wildlife species. Abundant seed crops produced in large amounts are consumed
by small mammals, birds, and insects; twigs and leaves provide food for deer and moose;
and trunk cavities provide nesting for birds such as wood ducks, owls, and woodpeckers.
Biodiversity information The Ash is a dominant tree species in some
wetland ecosystems. According to NRCS, ash trees are associated with wet soils in floodplains,
depressions and stream bottoms. Green ash is the most widespread ash species and is
a dominant layer of foliage in a forest on heavy wet soils, and is especially common
along river corridors. Black ash is common in Northern Wisconsin, in cold wet areas of
the Great Lakes region. White ash is commonly used in urban landscape and is highly prized
in making baseball bats. The ash popularity decline and widespread mortality will fundamentally
alter the function of wetland ecosystems. This will result in a reduction in availability
of a timber resource, as well as a valued source of wood for Native American basketry.
How does the EAB affect the Ash tree population? The EAB is 100 percent fatal to ash trees
of any size, any age, stressed or healthy. It is not the adult beetles that cause the
damage to ash trees, but the larvae. The EAB Manual states the larvae cause the most harm
by feeding on the inner bark of the ash trees and disrupts the trees’ ability to transport
water and nutrients, causing the tree to starve and eventually die. Mortality of the ash tree
happens within 2-4 years of being attacked by the EAB. In the United States the Ash species
has no natural resistance to the EAB. The continued spread of this pest threatens species
and wildlife, and may permanently alter landscape ecosystems of the Midwest.
What will grow in place of the Ash Trees? Another type of tree? Or will a new invasive
species be introduced to the land? The species that thrive off the Ash Tree will have to
adapt to the new change of the region. Should we care?
The spread of the EAB and the resulting death of thousands of ash trees is inevitable.
It will happen. We can, however, slow that spread by educating people about how humans
perpetuate this problem. Firewood is one of the major mediums through which the larva
of EAB is spread from place to place. If you go camping, use firewood that you find
at your campsite. Do not bring wood from home or purchase any on the side of the road.
We need to stop moving ash wood materials between states. Many governmental agencies
ban the transport of firewood onto public lands. Also, learn how to identify the beetle
and the marks that it leaves behind. If you suspect EAB in your area contact your
local DNR. The only treatment we have right now is education and awareness to slow the
spread. In order to buy more time for research, and possible treatment options.
Person 1: Please don’t move firewood Person 2: Don’t move firewood
Person 3: Don’t move firewood