Year: 2012

So you want your own costume?

Posted on by Leigh Greenwood

A surprising number of people want their own emerald ash borer costume, or Asian longhorned beetle costume. While we are always happy to share our costume through our very cost-efficient costume share program, I can totally understand that anyone using a costume more than about three times a year could benefit from having their own. In response to getting these questions a fair amount, here's my new FAQ on bug costumes;

 

Who made your costumes?

Our EAB, along with several other EAB costumes around the country, was made by a volunteer in the midwestern US that has since passed away. Subsequent copies of her design have been made by many amateur and professional costume makers. Our ALB costume and our Log costume were made by a professional costume maker in the Washington DC area. If you would like the information for that professional costume maker, please email info@dontmovefirewood dot org, and we'll pass it along to you.

 

How would I go about making my own costume?

The easiest thing to do is to find a local well recommended costume maker, and show them a LOT of photos of what you want. Your best resource for bug costume making people is likely either your local university's theatre department, or any sort of community theatre group in your area. Ask them for recommendations on who is reliable and creative for their costume needs. Once you have that information, visit our facebook page www.facebook.com/dontmovefirewood to show your newly found costume maker our collection of bug costume photographs. Along with a few pictures of the actual insect itself, this should be enough to get your costume maker ready for action!

 

How much will it probably cost?

The cost of costumes is largely dependent on labor costs. Therefore, rough estimates are really hard because it depending on how fancy your costume is, and your local wages for this sort of thing. However, if I had to guess, I'd say the lowest range would be US$250 (free or nearly free labor, plus the cost of materials), and many costumes could reasonably cost over US$700 (medium costs of labor, plus materials).

 

Any special tips on costumes?

Two things; Ask the costume maker to make the costume so that you can have it dry cleaned (otherwise it will soon grow to smell bad), and also ask them to make it so it fits anyone from 5'4" to 6'2" or so. You don't want to make a costume that only fits super tall people, because that limits your pool of volunteers. Having the shirt and pants underneath not be integral to the costume is best, because it makes it easier to fit on many body types, and keep the laundering process simpler.

 

Best of luck with your costume making!

 

 

Giant EAB seen at the Bridge of Flowers

Posted on by Leigh Greenwood

In the next of our series of blogs from the Don't Move Firewood summer interns, Natalie marauds around the gorgeous gardens at Bridge of Flowers in Shelburne Falls as Esmeralda the Emerald Ash Borer.

 

Deerfield River Festival – EAB Invasion of the Bridge of Flowers

by Natalie Garcia

 

What’s 5’3”, has 2 antennae, is metallic green, and loves to run around on the Bridge of Flowers? That’s what a lot of people were trying to figure out in Shelburne Falls a couple of weeks ago when we were on our way to Deerfield River Festival. Well the answer is ME! I suited up, not as Natalie Garcia, but as Esmeralda the Emerald Ash Borer—a sassy borer with a big agenda–because what EAB doesn’t have a big agenda?

 

 

If you haven’t heard, these borers are bad news. They’ve been described by the USDA Forest Service as the “most destructive forest insect introduced into North America in recent history” having infested trees in 16 states as well as parts of Canada. In Michigan alone the EAB has killed more than 30 million ash trees. Pretty darn impressive for a bug that’s smaller than a penny!

So back to the point of this post, the Bridge of Flowers visitors were having a lot of fun speculating on what I was. Many people appeared to be alarmed by my presence, which they should be because I was there to stir up some trouble, but they listened to Sean and me tell them about invasive insects and the threats they pose.

 

After this escapade, it was finally time to go to Deerfield Fest. It turned out to be a friendly festival, filled with lots of whitewater lovers that luckily for us, also loved the idea of not moving firewood. It was also a great time for Sean and me to show off our sick Frisbee skills to everyone, needless to say we killed it… but not really.

 

Until next time, if you’re enjoying a nice walk through the forest, the Bridge of Flowers, or your favorite outdoor spot, keep your eyes out for signs of the not-so-big real emerald ash borer.

 

Resources:

https://na.fs.fed.us/pubs/eab/eab_strategy.pdf

https://www.na.fs.fed.us/spfo/pubs/pest_al/eab/eab04.htm

https://www.emeraldashborer.info/michiganinfo.cfm

BREAKING: Firewood movement linked to new ALB location in Ohio

Posted on by Leigh Greenwood

This just in! A press release from the Ohio Department of Agriculture has firmly pointed the finger at firewood movement in 2010 (before the ALB was discovered in OH, thus before the quarantine was in place) as the cause of a new location of ALB in the greater Ohio ALB infested area. Please note that the author of this press release is NOT Don't Move Firewood, it is the Ohio Department of Agriculture.

 

Ohio Department of Agriculture Announces New Discovery of Asian Longhorned Beetle in Clermont County

Firewood cited as source of new infestation

REYNOLDSBURG, OH (July 20, 2012) – The Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA), in collaboration with
the United States’ Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) today
announced the discovery of the Asian Longhorned Beetle (ALB) on two properties in Stonelick Township
in Clermont County.

The center of the newly discovered infestation is on Possum Hollow Road within southern Stonelick
Township in Clermont County. State and federal officials cite the movement of firewood in 2010 from
Tate Township, prior to the current ALB quarantine zone being established, as the source of the new
discovery.

APHIS and ODA inspection crews are surveying the surrounding areas to determine the extent of the
ALB infestation. Crews will inspect host tree species susceptible to ALB for signs of the wood‐boring
beetle using ground surveyors and specially trained tree climbers. Once the extent of the infestation is
evaluated, ODA will move to expand the ALB quarantine to include additional properties near the new
infestation. When available, a map of the regulated properties will be posted at www.agri.ohio.gov.
In September 2011, firewood movement from Tate Township was cited as the source of an ALB
infestation on properties in Monroe Township in Clermont County.

“To prevent the spread of this destructive insect, it is crucial that firewood not be moved from areas
known to have ALB,” said Matt Beal, chief of the ODA Division of Plant Health. “As we learn more about
where potentially infested material has moved in recent years, it is important for property owners
familiarize themselves with the signs of an ALB infestation, monitor your trees and firewood, and as the
property owner did correctly in this instance, report any signs of infestation as soon as possible.”
Adult ALBs are large, shiny black insects measuring 1 to 1 ½ inches long, not including antennae, with
random white spots. Their white‐banded antennae can be as long as the body itself on females and
almost twice the body length on males.

Signs of infestation include perfectly round exit holes (about 3/8 to 1/2 inch in diameter) made by adult
beetles when they emerge from trees; the pockmarks on tree trunks and branches where female
beetles deposit eggs; frass (wood shavings and saw dust) produced by larvae feeding and tunneling;
early fall coloration of leaves or dead branches, and running sap produced by the tree at the egg laying
sites, or in response to larval tunneling.

To report signs or symptoms of ALB, please call the Ohio ALB Cooperative Eradication Program Office at
513‐381‐7180 or report online at www.BeetleBusters.info.

‐‐

Media Contacts: Brett Gates, Ohio Department of Agriculture, (614) 752‐9817
Rhonda Santos, USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, (508) 852‐8044

All about our Costume Share program

Posted on by Leigh Greenwood

Are you spreading the word about invasive insects at events this summer or fall? You should consider borrowing our fantastic insect costumes!

 

What? As part of our international outreach program, Don’t Move Firewood, we offer a selection of three different forest pest related costumes for use at any well attended appropriate educational opportunity.

 

Where? Our emerald ash borer, Asian longhorned beetle, and “piece of firewood” costumes show up in some amazing places: “green” expos in Colorado, campfire chats in New Hampshire, parades in Ontario Canada, and public meetings in Ohio. Our emerald ash borer costume is especially popular at Minor League Baseball games—and we are proud to say that the EAB is already booked for the Little League World Championship this fall in Pennsylvania—a fun first for our costume share program.

 

Why? We run the costume share program because it is cost efficient, educational, and it builds partnerships. As Don’t Move Firewood expands as a campaign, we are constantly seeking to make long term connections other groups that are motivated to educate the public on the issue of forest pest movement on firewood.

 

How? Any non-profit entity can simply book one of our cool costumes by emailing our team (info@dontmovefirewood.org) with the type of event, dates needed, and contact information. From there, the team at Don’t Move Firewood takes care of all the logistics. The only cost to the costume borrower is one-way insured shipping. And in return, we merely ask for photos of the costume in use.

 

So spread the word! Become our friend on Facebook to see lots of funny pictures of our costumes in action, and if you have an event that could benefit from an eye catching four foot high firewood costume, a bright green funny emerald ash borer costume, or a (roughly) scientifically accurate Asian longhorned beetle costume, send us an email.

Wanderlust Festival and the Purple Traps

Posted on by Leigh Greenwood

In the second of our series of blogs from the Don't Move Firewood summer interns, Sean ponders the meaning of yoga, donuts, purple traps, and the lack of open coffee shops at 6:30am.

 

Wanderlust: Slackasana and Purple Trap Roadtrips
by Sean Mahoney

 

This past weekend did involve a road trip to the great north woods, but nothing of the Jack Kerouac or Easy Rider sort of interactions took place. Instead the day started as most road days start for our outreach crew.

 

6am: On the road with no breakfast to be found in the sleepy towns along Route 7, but the chance to enjoy all the beauty of Vermont is all I need at this moment.

 

6:30am: Ok. All of that wishy-washy poetics about the open road and the beauty of Vermont is out the window. I’m so hungry, and why is there no food on the only highway to Vermont from western Massachusetts for 30 miles?

 

Purple Trap…

 

7am: Off in the distance a glimmer of hope emerges in the soft morning mist rising off the lake. Could it be? Yes! The sweet savory deliciousness of Donut Man off in the distance. Soon my hunger will be vanquished by a red velvet cake donut accompanied by an orange juice of exceptional temperature and quality.

 

8am: Cross the border to Vermont, the land of Ben and Jerry’s and real maple syrup.

 

Purple Trap…

 

Double Purple Trap…

 

What are these Purple Traps, you might ask? For those of you who are not among the dedicated band of forest entomologists who keep up with the happenings of Don’t Move Firewood on their lunch hour, I have included a picture of one. Perhaps you’ve seen them on your local roads?

The secret of the emerald ash borer monitoring trap is thought to be the purple coloration. Just as I was attracted to Donut Man this morning due to my hunger, an emerald ash borer is probably attracted to the purple coloration.

 

Look at the photograph below and compare it to the color of the trap above. See how the lower abdomen is a glistening purple?

 

 

The idea is the beetles are attracted to that same purple- and hence the purple traps set up in 47 states to map the spread of the EAB outbreak. If you see a purple trap in your neighborhood, you can post a picture of it on https://www.facebook.com/hungrypests.

 

Wait, where was I? Wanderlust… oh right Wanderlust.

 

Imagine this:

  •  
  • A ski hill with no snow
  • Beautiful views of the Green Mountains
  • Peace and relaxation with yoga classes running all day for an entire weekend
  • Slackasana (yoga on a slackline)
  • Acro Yoga (aka holding 120 to 200 plus pounds of yogi above your head while you both simultaneously move together)
  • A dome of Gongs that seemed to bring rain and thunder at the same point in the afternoon every day
  • A human sized emerald ash borer spreading the word about looking out for signs of invasive insects and not moving firewood
  • Some of the kindest free spirits who want to do all that they can to keep mother earth healthy including not moving firewood when they are not doing yoga

 

Natalie and I summed up the experience like this:

 

Namaste

 

-Sean

Where do I even ask this question?

Posted on by Leigh Greenwood

50 states, thousands of counties, quarantines, regulations, violations, oh my! Who do you ask when you have a question that is really specific to your situation?

 

Dear Don't Move Firewood,

sun july 2nd from wind had HICKORY tree blow down, what is safe distance to move it live in lawrenceburg ky, would like to sell to B-B-Q place or like may cracker barrel want to make sure it ok.

Thanks,

Bob

 

Dear Bob,

Glad you asked. The first thing I would do is just ask some local knowledgeable authorities. Sometimes that's a division of forestry, county extension, or the state department of agriculture offices. In your case, I think asking a county extension officer is going to be an easy and quick method of figuring out if there is anything worrisome (or illegal) about moving this dead hickory tree. The University of Kentucky has a great map to help you find who to call that you can use here https://www.ca.uky.edu/county/ . One question you should certainly ask is if the movement of hardwood firewood is permissable in your county. In some counties of Kentucky, all hardwood firewood is under quarantine, so that's a big concern.

 

Good luck!

 

The interns are guest blogging!

Posted on by Leigh Greenwood

Don’t Move Firewood Outreach Interns, Natalie and Sean are back in action!  They are travelling New York and New England – camped out at festivals and fairs – educating the public about how to keep America’s forests safe from invasive insects. Here’s the first chapter in their summer adventure!

 

Clearwater: Great Hudson River Revival – Overcoming the Outreach Hangover
by Natalie Garcia

 

Outreach is hard. Continuously relaying information and travelling long hours adds some wear and tear onto a summer. Needless to say, even after a year off from the Don’t Move Firewood campaign, Sean and I had a little bit of an outreach hangover – or as Sean described it, an unawareness of just how much work we would be doing and how much greasy, gross festival food we would be eating. Don’t get me wrong I am thrilled to be back, but an outreach hangover is no joke.

 

The first event was Clearwater: Great Hudson River Revival and I was eager to get the ball rolling. Our morning went as follows:

 

5:00am – Alarms goes off… “I’m getting too old for this”

5:30am – Somehow leave the house in one piece without forgetting anything

5:35am – Realize that absolutely nothing in the Berkshires (rural Western Massachusetts) is open at 5:35am

5:36am – post realization that I won’t be having any coffee – complain to Sean for the next 2 hours that I can’t believe that nothing is open*

 

As you can see, this was just the beginning of my now very large outreach hangover, but once I finally had some food and coffee I was determined to get over this hurdle. And Clearwater did not disappoint.

 

 

Over the two day event we were able to talk to more than 2,000 people about invasive pests, specifically the emerald ash borer (EAB) and the Asian longhorned beetle (ALB), and how carrying firewood with you when go camping or for any other reason can risk the health of forests and trees everywhere. Many of the festival attendees were aware of the issues, having heard us at events last year or from billboards and other PSAs. But there were many folks that we were able to talk to that hadn’t heard our message before, which is always fun, refreshing, and very exciting.

 

In addition to informing the people of Clearwater about invasive pests, I was able to hear a fantastic live swing band called Swingology, talk to some very cool and passionate individuals, and was not so disappointed by the fact that there was a great Indian food tent—not as greasy and gross as I thought!

 

So what’s the cure to an outreach hangover, you may ask? Other than having great co-workers to push you through it, enjoying the day, the people, and the events that we go to is a big part of effectively conveying an important message. Enduring Saturday’s rough morning was well worth the reward.

 

*  Yes I’ve been spoiled by the Bronx; there are 24 hour establishments there.

Invasive species and native species

Posted on by Leigh Greenwood

Here's a thought provoking question; what is a native species? When does it move far enough from where it is now, to where it goes to, to become a non-native species? This isn't a question from your biology class, it is a real quandary. For instance,  the goldspotted oak borer is an invasive species in Southern California, but its origin isn't that far off- Northern Mexico and parts of Arizona. I discussed this with reporter Clint Williams last week, to support his excellent article in Mother Nature News, Imported firewood can be more dangerous than fire. Crossing a major biological divide- like a huge desert- is just as potentially damaging as crossing the Atlantic or Pacific ocean, when it comes to the transport of pests.

 

This issue also came up in a recent email from the Don't Move Firewood advice line. So let's take a look at that!

 

Dear Don't Move Firewood,

Dandelion seeds are light and fluffy so they will blow long distances and spread. Burdocks cling to jeans and fur and are carried long distances to spread species. Transporting species from one region to another helps nature. The insects and the trees are both part of nature.

Yours,

Tom

 

Dear Tom,

You are misunderstanding the issue at hand. Don't Move Firewood isn't because we are concerned that native, natural, local insects will be spread throughout their appropriate habitats. This isn't about creatures that belong in the landscape. This is about invasive species. Invasives are things that reproduce, damage, and even kill in an out of control fashion, because they do not belong. Insects and trees are part of nature, but these particular insects are NOT part of this nature. These insects and diseases belong in far off lands, or at least biologically separate lands, where they originally evolved. When people move them, they escape "nature" in the truest sense, and grow out of control. Transporting these species is destructive.

Thanks for reading.

 

Construction waste as firewood

Posted on by Leigh Greenwood

We’ve talked about burning cut pallets before, but what about construction waste? As always, we’ve got you covered.

Dear Don’t Move Firewood,

I work in construction and have access to large amounts of processed construction lumber fall off. Is it ok to bring some of that wood for campfires as it is no longer a tree in its natural form?

Yours, Mark

Dear Mark,

There is sometimes a gap between a regulation, and every single possible thing that could apply to that regulation. Your question is regarding “processed construction lumber fall off,” so what I’m envisioning is the little clean dry bark-free segments of 2×4 or similar dimensional lumber that get trimmed off so that the whole piece is the correct length. If that’s right, then this sort of wood product presents a very minimal risk to tree health, and it would be OK in theory to use it for camping. However- and this is a BIG however- this sort of wood may still be either under regulation in your state, or may be turned away at the campground gate. The first thing- that it may be under regulation- is because the definition of untreated firewood varies a bit, and these scraps could be included. It isn’t because they are the same, it is because of what I first said- the gap between a regulation and every single possible type of burnable wood product. Then, the second part is the campground issue. Some campgrounds will not permit the burning of scraps, pallets, or other construction types of wood. This is generally for worker safety, for fear of chemicals like arsenic, or sharp brackets that could be released in burning and cause injuries for maintenance workers.

But this is untreated wood, you protest! And it doesn’t have nails or brackets! I know, but just because yours is clean and safe doesn’t mean everyone’s is.

Anyway, the point that I’m getting at is that processed lumber scrap is fine to burn in theory, but in practice it still may be forbidden in some areas, and in some campgrounds. I would advise checking with local regulations and calling ahead to the campgrounds. A little time on the phone can go a long way.

Why do we allow campfires in the first place?

Posted on by Leigh Greenwood

A tough question came into the advice column inbox about a month ago, and I've been pondering it ever since.

 

Dear Don't Move FIrewood,

What is the reason for allowing campfires in the first place?

1. On the west side of the Columbia River in Washington State they allow fires in the forests.  The forests burn up due to fires.  On the east side of the Columbia in Douglas County fires are NOT allowed.

2. Campfires make pollution and breathing in campground HORRIBLE at times.

If people are serious about climate change ending campfires would bring the topic home and wake people up.  Plus the bugs would not travel in firewood hauled around.

Thanks in advance,

Tom

 

Dear Tom,

To start off, your very first question is the easiest. Campfires are not always allowed at all campgrounds and forests, because sometimes they do create unacceptable risks. When these risks (like forest fires) are well understood by the public, then the regulation to not allow fires is usually fairly well respected. But when the risks aren't well understood by the public (like forest pests) or aren't well accepted by a wide range of the public (like contributing to climate change), the regulation will only serve to encourage rule-breaking and essentially create even more unacceptable behavior, such as creating illegal fire rings outside the boundary of the campground. So the reason for allowing campfires in the first place, usually, is that there is no persuasive, fair, or compelling reason to prohibit them.

 

I agree that campfires create pollution, especially when people burn wet wood or during certain weather patterns. That's a great argument for occasionally banning campfires, when appropriate. Again, that'd be understood by the public, so it would be likely to be respected.

 

But I'm going to disagree with the ideas you've got at the end of your letter. I don't think acceptance of the issue of climate change is going to be furthered by antagonizing typical campers. Here at Don't Move Firewood, we draw a pretty bold line in the sand between the act of having a campfire, or having a wood stove, or even just burning wood as a concept, and the threat of forest pests. The spread of forest pests is caused primarily by bad practices and bad decisions- NOT by the campfire itself, or the wood stove, or whatever method is used to burn wood. We believe that education and cooperation is the key to success over time.