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State and park officials report local EAB detections; Mount Desert Island placed under quarantine
Summary
Maine Forest Service and Acadia National Park staff reported March detections of emerald ash borer near Bar Harbor and a separate detection in Belfast, prompting quarantine measures on Mount Desert Island and expanded monitoring, including traps, girdled trees and an interactive mapping tool.
Jan Santier, Urban and Community Forestry Program Director at the Maine Forest Service, and Acadia National Park staff said recent detections of emerald ash borer (EAB) near Acadia have prompted immediate local restrictions and stepped‑up monitoring.
"We still have not detected any in the park," said Jesse Wheeler, vegetation program manager at Acadia National Park, stressing that the March detection occurred in Town Hill just outside the park boundary and led staff to coordinate closely with Maine Forest Service and local land managers. Maine Forest Service staff displayed updated maps and said they have placed Mount Desert Island under a quarantine, temporarily prohibiting ash products and hardwood firewood from leaving the island.
The quarantine is intended to slow human‑assisted spread while teams expand early‑detection work. Mike (Maine Forest Service staff) said the agency is increasing trap density and establishing additional girdled ‘‘hurdle’’ trees in strategic locations and will deploy more green funnel traps alongside existing purple prism traps. He described an interactive EAB web map the agency published that shows regulated areas, buffer zones and years of detection for individual towns.
Why it matters: detections outside established infestation cores can create satellite outbreaks. Officials said the Town Hill finding—about a mile or two from Acadia’s nearest boundary—triggered intensified messaging to campers and visitors, instructions to keep firewood local, and expanded field surveys to establish the geographic extent of the new positives.
State staff noted a second, recent detection in Belfast (reported during the same update). The Belfast location falls inside Maine’s existing quarantine boundary; the Mount Desert Island quarantine encompasses the whole island pending further survey and possible boundary adjustments. Officials said the Belfast and Bar Harbor area positives appear localized so far, which can indicate human‑assisted introduction rather than wide natural dispersal.
Officials outlined next steps: more intensive surveys and trap checks will begin with the seasonal monitoring program; girdled trap trees will be used in targeted areas; and quarantine boundaries will be adjusted only after additional survey results are obtained. Participants were urged to report suspect ash and to follow posted guidance on the Maine Forest Service EAB site.
The state will continue to update the interactive map and public resources as follow‑up survey results arrive; officials said a fuller picture should emerge by midsummer when the expanded trap network and follow‑up surveys yield more data.
