Oklahoma Forestry Service Teams With Local Parks To Detect, Trap Invasive Species Killing Ash Trees

Traps are going up at Tulsa parks in an effort to protect Oklahoma's ash tree population from an invasive species.

As people hike or bike at Turkey Mountain, Tulsa River Parks Authority said they may notice a large purple box hanging in a tree. These are Oklahoma Forestry Services emerald ash borer traps.

The tiny green beetle is an invasive species from Asia that gets its name from the way its larvae bore into ash trees and eats the cambium. Ryan Howell, Turkey Mountain Project Manager for River Parks Authority, said this destroys the trees' ability to move nutrients and water throughout its leaves, eventually killing it.

Howell said parks staff are putting ten traps in ash trees at Turkey Mountain and another ten along the Arkansas River. The traps are sticky on the outside and have bait on the inside.

"That bait is hopefully going to attract the beetle which flies from tree to tree and that is how it spreads," Howell said. "Hopefully the beetle will smell the bait from one tree and then fly over to our tree with the trap on it and get caught in the sticky on the outside, so that is how you can detect their presence."

It is estimated that 5% of the trees at Turkey Mountain are of the ash variety. There have been no emerald ash borers found in the area yet and Oklahoma Forestry Services said the beetle has not been detected in the state since 2016. However, it is wiping out trees in other nearby states.

"If they can identify an area that the ash borer is moving into then they can target their defenses to that area and hopefully build a perimeter wall around Oklahoma to try and keep it from spreading our way," Howell continued saying, "It is a very tough battle to fight and so being ahead of the game with the detection of these little things will help hopefully keep our ash population intact."

Emerald ash borers have been detected in Arkansas, Kansas, Texas and Missouri. Oklahoma Forestry Services said the beetles have killed tens of millions of ash trees in the United States.

The North American ash tree provides great native habitat for birds and wildlife that are adapted to live in them.