Invasive Emerald Ash Borer Focus of Symposium

The University of Maine, in collaboration with the Maine Indian Basketmakers Alliance, will host a half-day symposium June 21 on the emerald ash borer, an invasive beetle that attacks and kills ash trees, and what can be done to slow its spread in Maine.

The free event starts at 8:30 a.m. in Wells Conference Center, Room 2 on the UMaine campus and ends with networking at 2 p.m. Lunch will be provided.

Coordinated by faculty at the Senator George J. Mitchell Center and Maine’s Sustainability Solutions Initiative, the symposium will include speakers from the U.S. Department of Agriculture; Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service; the U.S. Forest Service; the Maine Forest Service; the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry; and Wabanaki tribal resource gatherers who rely on brown ash trees for the art and tradition of basket weaving that has been handed down through generations.

Contact Jennifer Neptune at JenniferMIBA@aol.com or Carol Hamel at 207.581.3195 for more information, disability accommodations or to register for the symposium. Registration is open until June 14.