Southern Ontario’s most heavily forested area says it can’t afford to fight deadly insect

Norfolk County, southern Ontario’s most heavily forested region, says it can’t afford to fight an invasion of emerald ash borer on its own and needs federal and provincial funding. Without assistance, the county says it may be forced to surrender its title as Forest Capital of Canada.

Making the situation even worse is an outbreak of gypsy moths in the county, another exotic invading insect.

The arrival of emerald ash borer, a metallic green bug from Asia, has already wiped out 30 millions ash trees in the United States and in the Windsor-Chatham area of Ontario. Officials have long feared the bug’s arrival in Norfolk because of its dense forests and the devastation that could occur. So far, the infestation is confined to one localized area of the county on the north shore of Lake Erie. But with warmer weather typically arriving in the region within six to eight weeks, the insects will soon be emerging, prompting fears they will spread much further.

The bug likely arrived in firewood brought into the area. It is now feared that millions of emerald ash borer are now in the area. Next week, it is expected that 1,300 landowners will face quarantine orders forbidding the movement of ash timber from their forests.

Norfolk is home to Canada’s first forestry station. The St. Williams Forestry Station was built in 1908. The county has long been viewed as a model for forest restoration after clearcutting in early 19th and 20th centuries removed much of the forest cover.