Forest Pub: Emerald Ash Borers

An invasive shiny beetle is threatening Oregon’s ash trees—and the ecosystems that depend on them.

Emerald ash borer (EAB), an invasive shiny-green jewel beetle native to north-eastern Asia, has arrived in Oregon. With EAB comes an urgent challenge for our forests, city canopies, and the communities that rely on them. This month's Forest Pub invites you to a timely conversation about the tiny insect causing major devastation to ash trees across North America, what its presence means for the future of our regional landscapes and forests, and what Oregonians are doing to save our ash.

Speakers:

• Glenn Howe is a forest geneticist and former Director of the Pacific Northwest Tree Improvement Research Cooperative at Oregon State University. His research focuses on ecological genetics and breeding of forest trees, forest tree genomics, and the effects of climate change on Pacific Northwest trees. Recently, he's begun working with others to develop genetic resistance to emerald ash borer in Oregon ash trees. 
• Max Ragozzino is the Oregon Department of Agriculture’s Biological Control Entomologist working on invasive insect pests. His work involves raising and releasing beneficial insects to combat invasive species, including brown marmorated stink bug, spotted wing drosophila, and emerald ash borer. Before coming to Oregon, Max’s doctoral research focused on emerald ash borer biological control in Virginia and North Carolina. Bringing that expertise to Oregon, he has worked with federal, state, regional and local partners on the emerald ash borer response task force to deploy biological control in every county EAB has been detected in.