Jamestown is one of nine North Dakota cities posting fliers in town to draw attention to the emerald ash borer and its potential to devastate ash trees in the state.
City Forester Vern Quam has about 100 of the laminated fliers he's posting on ash trees in city parks, at the James Valley Career and Technology Center and Frontier Village to draw attention to the insect. The laminated fliers will be up for a week in Jamestown, Quam said.
He said he hopes to raise awareness of the EAB by posting the fliers.
"So we have extra eyes watching for it (the insect)," he said.
The emerald ash borer is a small green insect that was imported to North America from Asia in packing materials of imported goods. The insects usually spread with the transportation of firewood and often kill infected trees.
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Quam has three fliers, two with information about how to prevent the arrival of the EAB and the other on firewood, asking people not to bring firewood into North Dakota and to use North Dakota sources for firewood. The fliers and brochures on firewood are being distributed to campgrounds in the area, he said.
"Leave your firewood at home and buy it locally," Quam said.
Gov. John Hoeven has declared this week Emerald Ash Borer Awareness Week. The insect hasn't been found in North Dakota but has been found in Minnesota. The insect only attacks ash trees. Hoeven's proclamation notes the state has 78 million ash trees in forests and that about 45 percent of trees in communities in the state are ash.
The fliers were provided through the North Dakota Department of Agriculture, state Forest Service, USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service and NDSU Extension Service. The groups, along with representatives from park districts and cities, are part of the state EAB Response Team, which is preparing for the insect's eventual arrival with a statewide response on how to deal with it.
Quam said the postings of the laminated fliers in the parks will give people a visual "look" at how the ash tree is a major part of the parks and the potential for losses should the EAB destroy them. But the diverse tree plantings in the parks are also a success story that will ensure trees will be part of the parks, he said.
