Emerald Ash Borer: Pushing Ash Trees Towards Extinction

The latest update of The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ is out and now includes 87,967 species, 25,062 of which are threatened with extinction.

Included in this list are five species of ash (green, white, black, blue and pumpkin ash) – all of which are native of North America and are a key component of North American forests. 

The decline in native ash is due to the invasive emerald ash borer, a beetle native to Asia. This destructive beetle has the potential to kill almost an entire forest stand of ash within six years of infestation. Fortunately, the emerald ash borer has not yet been detected in Oregon. In order to keep Oregon's native ash (Fraxinus latifolia) off of the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species in the future, it is crucial for Oregon to focus its efforts on preventing emerald ash borer from entering the state.

To read the full article, written by Ewa Magiera, click here.