Oregon Department of Forestry Working To Preserve Ash

The Oregon Department of Forestry will be collecting Oregon Ash seed from across the state for gene pool preservation. ODF’s Jim Gersbach said the Emerald Ash Borer, an Asian based invasive pest, has been wiping out ash trees across the country since the early 2000s.

"We know from studies that the Oregon ash species that is native to the PNW is a tree that will be susceptible to this insect. It will definitely attack these trees and will almost certainly wipe out most of them.”

The invasive pest is 99-100% fatal in invaded communities. Gersbach, said if the Ash is wiped out, there would be ramifications to the state's ecology like greater erosion and an increase in stream temperatures.

"Hopefully, a couple of things will come out of this. One, we'll put that seed into long term storage and they'll also share them with Pennsylvania State University researchers to study the gene-o of Oregon ash.”

ODF’s work is partially funded by a USDA Forest Service grant. Visit the ODFS's You Tube channel to learn more about efforts to save the Oregon Ash.

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