Ash borer unlikely to threaten other types of trees in Iowa

CEDAR RAPIDS - State foresters say they are not too worried about confirmed reports that emerald ash borers have attacked a white fringetree in Ohio.

Though the white fringetree occasionally is planted in Iowa as an ornamental tree, it is not native to or hardy in the state, said Tivon Feeley, a forest health expert with the Department of Natural Resources.

'It's not good news. It's something we want to watch. But it does not appear to be a big issue here,” State Forester Paul Tauke said.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which confirmed the finding last month, initially had believed that only ash trees were susceptible to the destructive iridescent green beetles, which have killed an estimated 25 million ash trees in the United States since 2002.

The discovery has escalated fears that the beetle will attack other members of the olive tree family, which includes not only ash and fringetrees but also lilac and forsythia, both of which are common in Iowa.

Neither lilac nor forsythia has bark thick enough to attract the ash borer, Feeley said.

Confirmations of ash borer infestations have paused recently in Iowa, but both Tauke and Feeley said they think more infestations will be documented in the state.

'The rate of discovery next year will be similar to this year's rate, if not greater,” Tauke said.

With the leaves off ash trees, woodpecker activity in dead branches will be more visible, he said.

Once snow covers the ground, fallen bark will be more visible at the base of ash trees, Feeley said.

Initially discovered in Iowa in 2010, the ash borer has been confirmed in 13 Iowa counties: Allamakee, Des Moines, Jefferson, Cedar, Union, Black Hawk, Bremer, Wapello, Jasper, Henry, Muscatine, Boone and Story.