Tools for Monitoring and Managing Ash
Why is it important to inventory, monitor, and manage ash?
In order to prepare for the onset of EAB in our forests, it is important to keep records of where ash is located to be able to monitor for EAB, collect seed, and implement management plans. We created the page Identifying and Recording Ash to help you find and identify different kinds of ash and collect important information about their characteristics. Here you will find a template inventory data sheet. In the future we plan to share a form, such as an app, for members of the public to report where they find ash trees to APCAW.
Once you’re aware of ash trees on your property, you can begin to participate in monitoring efforts. Monitoring the spread of EAB across the state is crucial for the regular updating of Maine state regulations regarding the quarantine of ash wood. State and regional entomologists are spearheading a number of efforts to monitor the spread of EAB, which you can learn more about on the page Monitoring Ash for EAB.
You can read about state updates to regulations, such as firewood bans and quarantine boundaries, in the section Regulations & Quarantine Information.
Researchers have developed numerous findings about strategies to manage ash, which we attempt to distill and share through the Managing Ash page. Options include biological controls, insecticides, protection of mother trees for seed collection, regenerating alternative species, and monitoring for lingering ash. There is no one size fits all solution and each person who cares for forests will have to decide which strategies work for them in considering the amount of ash on their land, economic feasibility, and support.
