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Ash trees on Front Range threatened by destructive Emerald Ash Borer

Emerald Ash Borer threatens ash trees on the Front Range

LAKEWOOD, Colo. — In Front Range cities such as Lakewood, ash trees have awareness ribbons on them to remind citizens about the danger the Emerald Ash Borer poses for their ash trees.

“There have been millions of ash trees killed in the Midwest by the bugs,” said Keith Wood, state forester. “The dead wood from those trees were cut up and shipped as fire wood around the nation, some sent right here to Colorado.

Emerald Ash Borer larva in firewood

That wood had larvae and borers inside it and now those bugs are infesting trees here.”

Boulder County has been hit hard, there is a ban on the wood being taken out of the county. This is the third major bug to hit Colorado trees, the Spruce and Mountain Beetles have hit pine trees hard, but with so many fires and the drought, many of those bugs are less of a threat than they were a few years back.

These are some things the state wants you to know about the newest threat to our trees.

Emerald Ash Borer: What Coloradans need to know