Tree removal at the site of the Asian longhorned
beetle infestation in Jersey City is scheduled to
begin on Tuesday, January 21st.
The New Jersey Department of Agriculture has contracted
with a tree removal service to begin the first phase
of tree removal, in which 102 infested trees and 48
adjacent host trees will be removed from the nine-acre
site.
By early spring, more than
300 additional potential host trees on that
site will be removed. The trees will be replaced
using federal funding secured through the state
Department of Environmental Protection's Community
Forestry Program.
"The Asian longhorned beetle is a very
serious threat to our residential trees and
forested lands," said Agriculture Secretary
Charles M. Kuperus. "Tree removal is
the most effective way to ensure that we eradicate
this highly destructive insect."
The Asian longhorned beetle, which attacks
and kills maple and other hardwood trees,
was discovered in Jersey City in October.
It was the first time the beetle, which has
caused serious tree losses in New York and
Chicago, had been sighted in New Jersey.
The beetle was detected on a largely commercial
site located just north of the Newport Parkway and
just east of Washington Boulevard. The N.J. Department
of Agriculture has quarantined the affected nine-acre
site and the surrounding 1½-mile area. With
the help of tree climbers from the U.S. Forest Service,
state and federal officials continue to canvass parks
and neighborhoods for signs of additional infestation
in potential host trees.
To date, approximately 30 percent of potential host
trees in Jersey City and more than 10 percent of potential
host trees in Hoboken have been inspected within the
quarantine area, with no further infestation detected.
The surveys are expected to continue until at least
May 1.
There are no plans to remove trees beyond the nine-acre
site unless further infestation is detected. The removed
trees will be chipped on site into 5/8-inch diameter
pieces - small enough to ensure that any beetle larvae
are killed.
The quarantine in the 1½ -mile area surrounding
the infested site continues to restrict the movement
of firewood, green lumber and other living, dead,
cut or fallen material -- including nursery stock,
logs, stumps, roots and branches -- from potential
host trees. These materials may not be moved outside
the quarantined area.
PRESS AVAILABILITY - Staff from the N.J. Department
of Agriculture and U.S. Department of Agriculture will
be available on site at 11 a.m. Tuesday for reporters
and photographers interested in covering the tree removal.
Meet at Washington Boulevard and Newport Parkway, opposite
the Staples store. |