HoCo, along with every other Maryland county west of the Chesapeake Bay , is under a federal quarantine from the USDA as part of the effort to arrest the spread of the evil emerald ash borer. Back in June the state imposed quarantine on HoCo. Last month the feds did the same.
Unless you are planning to sell firewood across state lines this probably won’t effect you much. Perhaps this export ban will create a n oversupply locally and keep prices for firewood low this winter.
Then again, I wonder how much they can really do to stop cross border firewood sales.
Still, it is worth the effort to try. This little beetle is decimating the ash trees. Once it lays its eggs in a tree, that tree is toast.
As Martin Weil reported in The Washington Post today, the ash tree plays an integral role in sports too.
“Valued for may reasons, ash trees are well known among sports fans as the source of wood for oars, hockey sticks and baseball bats…”
I sure hope this quarantine will help save our ash.
Note: I would have provided a link to Martin Weil's article in the Post but I couldn't find it online. This time the printed paper paid off!
