OTTAWA, ON - The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has confirmed the presence of emerald ash borer on a private property in the Regional County Municipality (RCM) of Avignon, in the Gaspésie-Îles-de-la-Madeleine region of Quebec. The finding is outside of the regulated area in that province, which extends from the Pontiac RCM in the Outaouais to the Kamouraska RCM in the Bas-Saint-Laurent.
Effective immediately, the movement of all ash material (such as logs, branches, and woodchips) and all species of firewood is restricted from the zone determined by the CFIA around the affected location. The property owner has been notified of these restrictions. The current regulated area could be expanded once the CFIA has completed its survey work.
Although the emerald ash borer poses no threat to human health, it is highly destructive to ash trees. It has already killed millions of ash trees in Canada and the United States, and poses a major economic and environmental threat to urban and forested areas of North America.
The CFIA continues to work with federal, provincial, municipal and First Nations partners and organizations to slow the spread of this pest.
Source : Newswire.ca