Officials with the Iowa Dept. of Natural Resources say two adult Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) beetles have been collected from a trap in a residential tree in Boone and have been positively identified as EAB by a federal identifier. The trap was placed in the tree this summer after suspect galleries were found in an ash tree branch that fell during a storm. A statewide quarantine restricting the movement of hardwood firewood, ash logs, wood chips and ash tree nursery stock out of Iowa into non-quarantined areas of other states was issued on Feb. 4, 2014 and remains in place. 

The city of Boone Parks Department has already taken several steps to prepare for a potential infestation of the EAB. They have inventoried 100% of the street trees in the community and are assessing the condition of ash trees, as well as all other trees, in the right-of-way. The city council established funding for removal of street trees and the purchase of specialized equipment to chip large diameter trees.