The fight to keep the ash tree-killing emerald ash borer out of Wisconsin is heating up thanks to potentially infested firewood from an Illinois company.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture issued an Emergency Action Notice Tuesday to Menards to remove all Taylors Wood Products Inc. firewood. There is also a national recall on all Taylors wood.
The problem is, according to the Department of Agriculture, most of the wood was already sold and it is now urging anyone who purchased the wood -- which was not treated to prevent the transportation of this invasive, tree-killing insect -- to burn it as soon as possible to kill any potential ash borers.
"Emerald ash borer is an expert hitchhiker in firewood and could devastate Wisconsin’s ash resources in both our forests and urban areas,” Wisconsin Secretary of Agriculture Rod Nilsestuen said in a press release. “By burning any Taylors brand firewood purchased at Menards as quickly as possible, Wisconsin residents can help slow the spread of this killer beetle and its possible introduction into the state.
"While EAB has not been detected in Wisconsin, we need to do everything we can to not help it get here,” Nilsestuen said. “Where the beetle is located, it’s about to start emerging from ash trees or ash firewood. People who bought this product should make every effort to use the firewood by May 1, 2007. If the wood is infested, burning it will kill the beetle inside."
If you think this isn't your problem, consider that there are roughly 717 million ash trees in Wisconsin's forests and about 20 percent of all street trees in the state are ash trees.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
