Public open houses announced concerning emerald ash borer

by Jessica Mador, Minnesota Public Radio

The Minnesota Department of Agriculture will hold two open houses on the emerald ash borer in the coming days. The destructive beetle was discovered in St. Paul in mid-May.

St. Paul, Minn. — The species has already destroyed millions of trees in the US but until recently it was not known to be in the state. So far, dozens of trees in the metro area have been confirmed as infested.

Experts will be available at the open houses with advice on how to protect ash trees. Michael Schommer from the Department of Agriculture said it's critical that people understand how to protect their ash trees.

"What we found is that people just have some questions that they really would like to ask the experts," Schommer said. "Both these meetings will give us an opportunity to get some of our experts out and interract with those folks so they have an opportunity to talk with them."

The first open house will be Thursday, June 4 in St. Paul. The second open house takes place next Monday, June 8 in St. Louis Park. Details on these meetings are available by clicking on the link to your right.