Are Ash Trees affected by Emerald Ash Borer able to be logged????

[jimbohanan]

I'm a homeowner in Allegheny County, PA with 7 1/4 acres. I unfortunately have a large number of Ash trees that have been affected by the Emerald Ash Borer beetle - a total of 31 in all. All of the trees have either recently died or are dying (they seem too far advanced with the beetle infestation to be able to treat). My question is whether or not the trees could be logged and used locally? (since transporting out of our county will only potentially spread the beetle). I've cut four trees down already, and they appear to have solid trunks (the beetles have only affected the area immediately under the bark). Will the wood from the trees be able to be used for anything other than my firepit? Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

Jim

 

[Twindad]

This is a rather complicated question. If you are asking if the wood is still worth being used for anything other than firewood and if the trees are still alive or recently dead, then yes they should still be able to be logged as the EAB typically will not bore into the sapwood of the tree. They live and do their damage in the inner bark and cambium of the tree.
It is good that you are conscientious of not spreading the bug. The complicated part of the question is in the specifics of your particular stand of trees. ie. age, size, form, location, topography, not to mention local markets, distance to mill etc.

 

[flashhole]

I've lost a few too. I'm milling my own and turning them into lumber.

 

[old_soul]

I'm a homeowner in Allegheny County, PA with 7 1/4 acres. I unfortunately have a large number of Ash trees that have been affected by the Emerald Ash Borer beetle - a total of 31 in all. All of the trees have either recently died or are dying (they seem too far advanced with the beetle infestation to be able to treat). My question is whether or not the trees could be logged and used locally? (since transporting out of our county will only potentially spread the beetle). I've cut four trees down already, and they appear to have solid trunks (the beetles have only affected the area immediately under the bark). Will the wood from the trees be able to be used for anything other than my firepit? Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

Jim

No kidding? I did not know EAB was that far east already.

If you decide to mill it, do it quick. Ash gets punky fast if it stands with the bark on.........

 

[ATH]

how big are the trees?

Is the bark still relatively tight? If the bark is falling off, forget about it. The wood will check badly and is probably infested with powder post or ambrosia beetles. If the bark is tight, but the trees are dead, you have one or two years (like old_soul said, they get punky quick).

Take the butt log - the first 16' of the tree. If the small end of that (inside the bark) is bigger than 10" in diameter (or about 14-16" in diameter outside the bark at breast height on a standing tree), and there are not a lot of knots on it, then it may be worth milling. Obviously, bigger than that is better...and if you have top logs that are nice they could be used as well.

Are there regulations about moving the logs? If not, I am not sure you are stopping anything by keeping it in your county instead of going one county away. If your trees are dying, all of the surrounding counties are already infested - trust me on that one...I have watched it spread since it was first identified. But if there are regulations against moving it, then obviously you should not. The other thing you could do if you are really concerned is to move the logs in the winter and destroy the slabs before next April/May.

Good luck - let us know if you get anything out of them.

 

[PJM]

Pretty sure that PA lifted its EAB quarantine and now allows free movement within the state. This is part of the reasoning why NY's EAB quarantine was recently expanded all along the PA border. Movement out of state is still regulated by USDA-APHIS. It is still wise to limit movement of logs to the non-flight season so as to minimize the risk of further spread of the bug.

The other questions that previous posters asked are what you need to answer. I will offer this though, don't make the mistake of chasing a few ash logs for the sake of a couple dollars. You may end up losing in the long run due to residual damage to more preferred species such as sugar maple and black cherry. Get a forester in to help. DCNR has some pretty good one's that will give you some free advice.