The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) has confirmed emerald ash borer (EAB) in Pope County for the first time. 

County Ag Inspector Barry Bouwman was contacted to check several declining ash trees with woodpecker holes on a landowner’s property in Glenwood Township before Memorial Day and contacted the MDA to investigate.

Based on a May 30 site visit by the MDA and subsequent specimen testing, MDA officials have confirmed the presence of emerald ash borer in an ash tree on privately-owned land in Glenwood Township near the Glenwood Town Hall.

Because this is the first time EAB has been identified in Pope County, the MDA is enacting an emergency quarantine of the county. The quarantine limits the movement of firewood and ash tree material out of the area The idea is to halt the long distance spread of EAB by placing a quarantine on EAB insect itself, as well as ash logs, ash tree waste, ash chips and mulch and all non-coniferous firewood.

Virtual informational 

meeting set for Thursday

An informational meeting for residents will be held on-line June 20 from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. Experts from the MDA will give a brief presentation followed by a question and answer session. Residents may register for the meeting at www.mda.state.mn.us/eab follow the prompts to register for the virtual meeting.

Comments on quarantine

requested through July

The MDA is taking comments on the proposed formal quarantine now through July 26. The proposed quarantine language can be found at www.mda.state.mn.us/eab. Comments may be made at the virtual meeting or by contacting Kimberly Thielen Cremers, MDA, 625 Robert Street North, St. Paul, MN 55155. It recommends adopting the quarantine on July 29, 2024.