WISCONSIN — The USDA Forest Service Eastern Region State Private, and Tribal Forestry Watershed Team will host an hour-long webinar Thursday, Jan. 16, for land managers, forest health managers and forestland owners to discuss ways to manage riparian forests before and after emerald ash borer arrives. 

The emerald ash borer has been detected so far in 36 states, the District of Columbia and five Canadian provinces. It kills ash trees across North America with a mortality rate of nearly 100 percent after infestation, disrupting local ecosystems. 

Entomologist Andrea Scholer will explain the biology of EAB, its impacts on riparian forests across the Eastern Region, and provide management options. Scholer works for the Forest Service Eastern Region and is based out of St. Paul, Minnesota.

Minnesota Land Trust Restoration Program Manager Gini Breidenbach will describe their collaborative approach to increasing the resilience of riparian forests along the St. Louis River estuary in Duluth, Minn. Their work features an understanding of Minnesota’s native plant communities in partnership and with planting guidance from the local band of Ojibwe. 

Jim Kettler and Amy Lentz of Lakeshore Natural Resource Partnership with Melissa Curran of Stantec Consulting Services, Inc. will share their approach to restoring riparian forests that are currently losing canopy cover because of EAB. Located along the shore of Lake Michigan in Eastern Wisconsin, their work includes climate-informed species selection, invasive species management, and a multitude of local partners. 

• Date: Thursday, Jan. 16, scheduled for 11 a.m. to noon (CST) 

• Register for the webinar

The virtual event is part of the Eastern Region Watershed Team’s quarterly watershed forestry webinar series.

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