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State finds new emerald ash borer positives; quarantine expanded in northern Maine
Summary
Maine officials reported six positive purple prism traps and three additional northern positives in 2024 monitoring; the state expanded an emerald ash borer quarantine in Aroostook County, added towns in southern Maine, and emphasized continued surveillance and photo-based verification.
State plant health staff told webinar attendees that 2024 monitoring turned up a notable set of new detections for emerald ash borer (EAB) and prompted regulatory adjustments.
Mike (introduced in the meeting as Mike Perizio) summarized trap work across survey tools: the long-running purple prism trap program ran 182 traps in 2024 (checked twice per season) and produced six positive traps, including detections near Oxford County and in the Waterville cluster. He noted three positive purple-prism traps in northern Maine (Caribou, Matawaska Lake Township and Westmanland) that were outside previously regulated boundaries and informed regulatory decisions.
"So yeah, important positive results from our survey kind of informing our regulatory decisions," Mike said, describing how surveillance guided mapping of quarantine areas.
He also described girdle-trap tree surveys (about 50 trees per year) used to document local spread and identify bio-control sites; two positive girdle trees were recorded in Van Buren (Northern Maine). A separate green funnel trap cluster (30 traps checked roughly every two weeks, yielding 248 samples) produced no positives in its formal clusters, though a cooperating site in Fort Kent reported a positive sample consistent with known local detections.
Gary Fish, state horticulturist and state plant regulatory official in the Bureau of Agriculture, explained the regulatory response: the quarantine area was expanded in northern Aroostook County and remains in place in southern Maine. Gary said a recent rule change allows the commissioner to map quarantine boundaries without repeating the full rulemaking process, although affected parties may request a hearing.
The quarantine covers regulated movement of ash material, hardwood firewood and logs with bark or live edge; Gary stressed that the external quarantine remains in effect so border inspections (including at Canada crossings) continue to emphasize EAB risks. He also noted new fines and named added towns (including Bath and Brunswick in Cumberland County) as part of recent mapping.
During Q&A, staff urged photo documentation for suspect EAB finds because native species can be easily confused with EAB and said confirmed reports should be emailed to foresthealth@maine.gov or to Mike directly for verification. Mike encouraged municipal staff to submit observations, noting the state keeps a running log of confirmed positive sites.
Officials said monitoring and quarantine adjustments will continue as surveillance data arrive and asked the public to report suspect ash decline with photographic evidence.
