WISCONSIN DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE,
TRADE AND CONSUMER PROTECTION
EMERGENCY RULE
The state of Wisconsin department of agriculture, trade and consumer protection hereby adopts the following emergency rule to amend s. ATCP 21.17 (1) (b) and to create s. ATCP 21.17 (1) (c), relating to the quarantine of Ashland, Barron, Bayfield, Burnett, Clark, Chippewa, Dunn, Eau Claire, Florence, Forest, Green Lake, Marathon, Marinette, Iron, Langlade, Lincoln, Menominee, Oconto, Pepin, Pierce, Polk, Price, Rusk, Shawano, Saint Croix, Taylor, Vilas, Washburn, Waupaca, and Waushara Counties for the emerald ash borer. Analysis Prepared by the Department
of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection
This emergency rule creates a quarantine for Ashland, Barron, Bayfield, Burnett, Clark, Chippewa, Dunn, Eau Claire, Florence, Forest, Green Lake, Marathon, Marinette, Iron, Langlade, Lincoln, Menominee, Oconto, Pepin, Pierce, Polk, Price, Rusk, Shawano, Saint Croix, Taylor, Vilas, Washburn, Waupaca, and Waushara for the emerald ash borer (“EAB”).
This emergency rule will take effect immediately upon publication in the official state newspaper and will remain in effect for 150 days. The Legislature’s Joint Committee for Review of Administrative Rules may extend the emergency rule for up to 120 additional days.
Statutes Interpreted
Statutory Authority
Explanation of Statutory Authority
Emerald ash borer quarantines created by this rule are part of an overall state strategy to control and manage plant pest infestations, including EAB infestations. DATCP adopts this emergency rule under the authority of Wis. Stat. § 227.24. Background
In 2017, the United States Department of Agriculture – Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) positively identified EAB in the following counties:
1. Green Lake: Two adult EAB were collected from an APHIS trap on St. Marie Road on August 22, 2017. Subsequently, on August 25, 2017, an adult EAB was collected from a green Department of Natural Resources (DNR) funnel trap at Margaret Dodge Memorial Park in Markesan.
2. Chippewa: APHIS verified EAB for the first time on August 25, 2017, following the collection of 31 EAB larvae from 3 trees in a private resident’s yard near Lake Wissota.
3. Waushara: On August 22, 2017, EAB was confirmed after a single EAB adult was collected by APHIS staff from a baited purple panel trap in Hancock.
4. Waupaca: On August 22, 2017, EAB was confirmed by APHIS for the first time after a single adult beetle was collected from a baited APHIS purple panel trap along County Road Q, in the Town of Farmington.
5. Marinette: On August 30, 2017, APHIS confirmed the first detection of EAB from 3 baited purple panel traps in the city of Niagara and the Towns of Wagner and Goodman.
6. Marathon: APHIS confirmed EAB for the first time on October 10, 2017, after EAB larvae were collected by a tree company from a local resident’s yard in the Town of Rib Mountain, along the Wisconsin River.
7. Eau Claire: APHIS confirmed EAB for the first time on November 30, 2017, after fifteen EAB larvae were collected by DNR forest health staff from a heavily woodpecker-damaged tree in the boulevard of a parking lot on the UW-Eau Claire campus on November 27, 2017. City forestry staff initially found this and other infested trees in that area, near Water Street and 2nd Avenue.
While EAB has not yet been positively identified in the remaining 23 counties of Wisconsin, they are in close proximity to existing infestations, many of which include larval detections that evidence reproducing populations that were present for years before their detection in 2017. It is therefore likely that remaining counties already contain some level of EAB infestation, and there is little economic or ecological benefit to maintaining their status outside of the EAB quarantine.
This emergency rule creates a quarantine for Ashland, Barron, Bayfield, Burnett, Clark, Chippewa, Dunn, Eau Claire, Florence, Forest, Green Lake, Marathon, Marinette, Iron, Langlade, Lincoln, Menominee, Oconto, Pepin, Pierce, Polk, Price, Rusk, Shawano, Saint Croix, Taylor, Vilas, Washburn, Waupaca, and Waushara Counties. Firewood restrictions on state and federal lands will remain in effect. The Department will continue outreach related to forest pests in an effort to educate the public as to the benefits of using certified or local firewood to prevent the movement of forest pests.
Emergency Rule Content
The emergency rule will create a quarantine for EAB for Ashland, Barron, Bayfield, Burnett, Clark, Chippewa, Dunn, Eau Claire, Florence, Forest, Green Lake, Marathon, Marinette, Iron, Langlade, Lincoln, Menominee, Oconto, Pepin, Pierce, Polk, Price, Rusk, Shawano, Saint Croix, Taylor, Vilas, Washburn, Waupaca, and Waushara Counties. This quarantine will allow for the intrastate movement of regulated articles, including all hardwood species of firewood, nursery stock, green lumber, and other material living, dead, cut or fallen, including logs, stumps, roots, branches, and composted and uncomposted chips of the genus Fraxinus (Ash wood). Interstate movement of regulated articles is subject to the federal quarantine requirements.
Summary of Factual Data and Analytical Methodologies
Data for this analysis was obtained from DATCP nursery license records, local business directories, and field surveys of the wood products industry (e.g. timber, lumber, firewood) in the affected area. This analysis was based on the regulatory language of ATCP 21.17 and 7 CFR 301.53, the observations of DATCP Plant Industry Bureau staff, and conversations with stakeholders in the nursery and timber-related industries. Analysis and Supporting Documents used to Determine Effect on Small Business
