I've seen very little coverage of this infested-firewood story in Iowa, either in newspapers or on TV, which puzzles me. The news release from the Iowa Department of Agriculture was certainly ominous.

I emailed a reporter and three editorial writers at the REGISTER, asking about coverage of this story, and none of them responded. If any media people assume that spraying can take care of any problems if borers emerge, a la spot infestations of gypsy moths, they're in for a surprise. Based on experience in other states, nothing stops emerged borers, and unlike gypsy moths, which only defoliate trees, borers kill them.

I read in the Ames DAILY TRIBUNE that live emerald ash borer larvae have been found in the Taylor firewood in Wisconsin and Minnesota, so I assume some of the Taylor's Wood firewood sold in Iowa may be infested as well. If it isn't burned, any borers in it could emerge any day now. Good luck to Iowa's seventy million ash trees.

From the MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINAL, May 6, 2007

Editorial: A lack of vigilance

Bought any Taylor's Wood firewood lately at a Menards home improvement store? Burn it. Now. Then send Menards a letter asking why two of its southern Wisconsin stores were still selling the firewood more than a week after state authorities had told the company to remove Taylor's Wood products from shelves.

Maybe that will send a message to Menards honchos, some of whose employees seem to have trouble remembering what they're supposed to sell and what they're not supposed to sell.

The firewood recall order came April 13. Menards was given 24 hours to remove all firewood that violated a federal quarantine designed to keep the emerald ash borer from stealing into the state on the back of a log cut outside Wisconsin. More than a week later, according to state officials, banned wood was still for sale at two stores.

Nor is this the first time Menards has run afoul of government regulators trying to contain a pest that has already destroyed more than 20 million ash trees in the Midwest.

The home improvement chain was investigated by Michigan officials in 2004 for selling live ash trees where the sale of such trees was prohibited. The company got a warning. Last summer, a Menards store in Traverse City, Mich., was caught doing the same thing. The Michigan Agriculture Department is seeking $7,000 in fines.

Wisconsin officials might want to consider what they can do to send a strong message to Menards. The emerald ash borer is a serious threat to Midwestern trees. If left unchecked, the tree-killing bug could cause up to $300 billion in damage, according to the U.S. Forest Service. Checking it requires constant vigilance on the part of officials, businesses and consumers.

Menards says it has pulled 23,014 bundles and acquired a new firewood vendor. And a Minnesota official said the company has been "very cooperative" in the recall effort in that state.

But Menards is a Wisconsin company. It should have been doubly vigilant in its own backyard.

For more on invasive species and firewood rules, go to www.dnr.state.wi.us/invasives/firewood

Cindy Hildebrand
[log in to unmask]
Ames, IA 50010

"The firm, undulatory flight of the hairy woodpecker is a frequent sight, and his resolute, penetrating pimp...is often heard along the streets." (Selden Lincoln Whitcomb, describing Grinnell, Iowa in 1885)

See what's free at AOL.com.