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DEP Moves Forward with Reforestation of City Trees Devastated by Asian Longhorned Beetle
(05/124) TRENTON – New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection
(DEP) Commissioner Bradley M. Campbell today announced ongoing tree
replacements in areas of Carteret, Rahway, Linden and Woodbridge
affected by infestations of the Asian Longhorned Beetle.
The DEP’s Forest Service is managing the forest restoration, which
began this month with the planting of 556 trees in Carteret, 307 trees
in Rahway, 391 trees in Linden and 173 trees in Woodbridge. A total of
1,427 trees will be planted.
"It is important that we keep the green in the Garden State," said
Acting Governor Richard J. Codey. "More than 5,000 trees had to be
removed because of infestation. The need to replant speaks for itself."
The tree-planting project is part of the first phase of the $1.6
million reforestation effort to replace the 5,400 trees removed because
of the beetle infestations. The project is funded through a grant
supplied by the U. S. Department of Agriculture Animal Plant Health
Inspection Service (APHIS) in cooperation with the U.S. Forest Service.
“The landscape of these cities and communities suffered a major blow
from the invasive Asian Longhorned Beetle,” Campbell said.
“Replanting the trees will restore the natural canopy once enjoyed
by the residents and area businesses.”
The New Jersey Department of Agriculture, along with APHIS, continues
to remove infected and host trees. The replacement trees are
approximately 10 feet tall and 2-3 inches in caliper, which is the trunk
diameter measured 6 inches above the root ball. A variety of tree
species are available, but will vary depending on the nursery stock and
preference of the property owner.
Tree species available for residential and street tree plantings this
fall include eastern redbud, ginkgo, Kentucky coffeetree, magnolia,
Japanese tree lilac, dogwood, Douglas-fir, littleleaf linden, Atlas
cedar, serviceberry, American holly and arborvitae.
The Asian Longhorned Beetle is an exotic insect with a voracious
appetite for hardwood trees including all species of maple, willow, elm,
horsechestnut, ash, poplar, birch, hackberry, mountain-ash, mimosa,
London plane and sycamore. This insect poses a serious threat to
hardwood forests in the Northeast, including trees in New Jersey’s
urban forests.
The only means of stopping the spread of the Asian Longhorned Beetle
involves aggressive removal and chipping of all infested trees and high-risk host trees.
Asian Longhorned Beetles are about 1 to 1.5 inches long and have a shiny black exterior
with white spots. Their name comes from their long antennae, which are banded black
and white. The beetles typically attack one tree and migrate to others
when their populations become too dense.
Asian Longhorned Beetles were first discovered in the United States in
1996 in the Greenpoint area of Brooklyn and were found again in 2001 in
Manhattan’s Central Park. USDA officials have determined that they
first entered the country inside solid-wood packing material coming from
China.
In New Jersey, the beetle was first detected in 2002 in Jersey City.
These infested trees were removed. The eradication and restoration
efforts in Jersey City have proved successful with no new outbreaks
identified to date.
(05/124) TRENTON – New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection
(DEP) Commissioner Bradley M. Campbell today announced ongoing tree
replacements in areas of Carteret, Rahway, Linden and Woodbridge
affected by infestations of the Asian Longhorned Beetle.
The DEP’s Forest Service is managing the forest restoration, which
began this month with the planting of 556 trees in Carteret, 307 trees
in Rahway, 391 trees in Linden and 173 trees in Woodbridge. A total of
1,427 trees will be planted.
"It is important that we keep the green in the Garden State," said
Acting Governor Richard J. Codey. "More than 5,000 trees had to be
removed because of infestation. The need to replant speaks for itself."
The tree-planting project is part of the first phase of the $1.6
million reforestation effort to replace the 5,400 trees removed because
of the beetle infestations. The project is funded through a grant
supplied by the U. S. Department of Agriculture Animal Plant Health
Inspection Service (APHIS) in cooperation with the U.S. Forest Service.
“The landscape of these cities and communities suffered a major blow
from the invasive Asian Longhorned Beetle,” Campbell said.
“Replanting the trees will restore the natural canopy once enjoyed
by the residents and area businesses.”
The New Jersey Department of Agriculture, along with APHIS, continues
to remove infected and host trees. The replacement trees are
approximately 10 feet tall and 2-3 inches in caliper, which is the trunk
diameter measured 6 inches above the root ball. A variety of tree
species are available, but will vary depending on the nursery stock and
preference of the property owner.
Tree species available for residential and street tree plantings this
fall include eastern redbud, ginkgo, Kentucky coffeetree, magnolia,
Japanese tree lilac, dogwood, Douglas-fir, littleleaf linden, Atlas
cedar, serviceberry, American holly and arborvitae.
The Asian Longhorned Beetle is an exotic insect with a voracious
appetite for hardwood trees including all species of maple, willow, elm,
horsechestnut, ash, poplar, birch, hackberry, mountain-ash, mimosa,
London plane and sycamore. This insect poses a serious threat to
hardwood forests in the Northeast, including trees in New Jersey’s
urban forests.
The only means of stopping the spread of the Asian Longhorned Beetle
involves aggressive removal and chipping of all infested trees and high-risk host trees.
Asian Longhorned Beetles are about 1 to 1.5 inches long and have a shiny black exterior
with white spots. Their name comes from their long antennae, which are banded black
and white. The beetles typically attack one tree and migrate to others
when their populations become too dense.
Asian Longhorned Beetles were first discovered in the United States in
1996 in the Greenpoint area of Brooklyn and were found again in 2001 in
Manhattan’s Central Park. USDA officials have determined that they
first entered the country inside solid-wood packing material coming from
China.
In New Jersey, the beetle was first detected in 2002 in Jersey City.
These infested trees were removed. The eradication and restoration
efforts in Jersey City have proved successful with no new outbreaks
identified to date.
