The battle to eradicate the ALB from Massachusetts is now in its 2nd year.  This exotic plant pest was initially found attacking trees in the Glendale neighborhood of Worcester in August 2008.  Since then, this pest has also been discovered killing trees north and west of Worcester in the towns of Holden, Boyleston, West Boyleston and Shrewsbury.   The regulated or quarantine area, where no wood products can leave without USDA permission, currently stands at 73 square miles.  For perspective, the town of  Coventry is 60 sq. miles the largest of Rhode Island’s 39 cities and towns, would fit comfortably into the quarantine area with room to spare!

The Worcester community has been hardest hit by the ALB infestation.  A total of 26,000 infested and host trees have so far been removed in this city of 170,000 residents.  This removal process has dramatically altered the appearance of Worcester’s urban forest.  Maples, the beetle’s preferred host, have literally disappeared from the landscape.  Neighborhoods still have trees but they are fewer and far between.  Of the trees that do remain, most are oaks and conifers which the ALB does not attack.  No one knows how many more trees will be lost, but USDA- Forest Service officials estimate there are 600,000 ALB at risk trees located in the quarantine area.  All of them must be examined for the ALB, a process that Commonwealth officials admit may take a decade.

The federal government has spent close to $24M on ALB eradication in Worcester over the past 16 months.  Also, it has allocated an additional $4M to be used for reforestation starting in spring 2010.

Finally, a very fine article on the ALB infestation appears in the November 2009 edition of the Smithsonian Magazine.  This article and more information on the Commonwealth’s ALB efforts can be accessed at www.pestalert @ massnrc.org.