By CINDY LADAGE
Illinois Correspondent

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — It sounds like a sports promo, hearing the USDA proclaim victory over the Asian Longhorn Beetle (ALB), great news for a long, hard victory against this pest that has lasted a decade.

The announcement came from the USDA, the Illinois Department of Agriculture (IDOA) and the city of Chicago, that the pesky beetle has been eradicated from Illinois. The announcement was made at the very spot in Ravenswood – the Chicago neighborhood where it was found in 1998, almost 10 years ago. The last sighting was in Chicago’s Oz Park in 2003.

“This day would not have been possible without the hard work and cooperation of many individuals and agencies,” said Warren Goetsch, IDOA bureau chief of environmental programs. “The federal and state governments, along with the efforts of the city of Chicago and various towns and villages, all contributed mightily to the success of this project.

“I encourage local residents to recognize the tremendous work put forth by these groups and join us as we celebrate the complete eradication of this pest in Illinois.”

To ensure the beetle is truly gone, partners have completed extensive surveys and for the last four years have not found adult ALB or any signs of infestation. With these data under its belt, the USDA felt there was enough proof to proclaim victory over the invasion of ALB in Illinois.

Illinois is the first state to declare eradication of the beetle. Bruce Knight, under secretary for USDA’s marketing and regulatory programs, shared his thoughts.

“This successful eradication would not have been possible without the solid partnership between federal, state and local governments fighting ALB in Illinois,” he said. “Eliminating the ALB involved the innovative use of resources, open lines of communication between government agencies and the public and a united commitment to decisive and results-oriented actions.”

Eradication was a combination of partners. Deputy Commissioner Malcolm Whiteside, head of the Chicago Department of Streets and Sanitation’s Bureau of Forestry, said, “The combination of great teamwork with our state and federal allies and the extremely strong support of Mayor (Richard) Daley and our elected officials from the impacted neighborhoods made it possible for us to aggressively go after this invasive pest and eradicate the ALB from Chicago.”

The ALB is about 1.5 inches long, has shiny black antenna up to twice the length of its body and is banded in black and white. This seemingly innocent insect that prefers maple, birch, elm and poplar trees – among others – racked up devastation of around 1,771 host trees between 1998-2006.

Its invasion required ALB quarantine zones in numerous Chicago neighborhoods, including Oz Park, Ravenswood, Kilbourn Park, Loyola, Park Ridge, O’Hare, Addison and Summit.

IDOA stated as many as 35 square miles were quarantined for the pest in and around Chicago, with 61 square miles considered infested and surveyed for signs of beetles.

The last chemical treatments took place in the Oz Park area in 2006.

USDA is working with its state and local government partners to eradicate Asian Longhorn Beetle in parts of New York and in central New Jersey, as well.

Additional information can be found at www.aphis.usda.gov

This farm news was published in the April 23, 2008 issue of the Farm World, serving Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan and Tennessee.