Volunteers are needed to help collect Oregon ash seeds this fall for the USDA Forest Service and Oregon State University to help find resistance to the emerald ash borer.
Volunteers are needed in Oregon, Washington, California and British Columbia, Canada.
Collected seeds will be shipped to the USDA Forest Service Dorena Genetic Resource Center in Cottage Grove, where researchers will store some of the seeds to preserve genetic diversity and use the other portion of seeds to test for resistance to the emerald ash borer.
A virtual workshop will be held for interested volunteers from noon to 1 p.m. on Aug. 14. The workshop will teach volunteers how to gather seeds in their areas and prepare them for shipment. Advanced registration is required.
The emerald ash borer is native to Asia and likely arrived in the U.S. from wood packing material carried in cargo ships or airplanes from Asia. Since arriving in Michigan nearly two decades ago, the beetle has devastated native ash populations.
The larvae of the beetle feed on the inner bark of ash trees, disrupting the flow of water and nutrients.
In June 2022, the first detection of the emerald ash borer was found in Forest Grove, marking the first confirmation of the invasive beetle on the West Coast, according to the OSU Extension Service.
As of September 2024, EAB has infested 24.6 square miles of Oregon and been found in four counties: Clackamas, Marion, Washington and Yamhill, according to the Oregon Department of Forestry.
For more information and to register, got https://beav.es/xJw or contact OSU Extension Forester Dan Stark at [email protected]
Mariah Johnston is an outdoors journalism intern at the Statesman Journal. Reach her at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: How Oregonians can help find resistance to emerald ash borer
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