INDIANAPOLIS, May 1 (UPI) -- Indiana state parks have banned firewood from areas known to be infested with emerald ash borer -- an invasive pest that destroys ash trees.
State officials say all Indiana state parks, forests, reservoirs and recreation areas will be off-limits during the upcoming camping season to such firewood.
"It is absolutely crucial that people understand the dangers of moving firewood and firewood's connection to the spread of emerald ash borer," said Jodie Ellis, exotic insect education coordinator at Purdue University. "Emerald ash borer arrived in Indiana in infested firewood moved from Michigan or Ohio."
The pest has been found in the Indiana counties of Steuben, LaGrange, Randolph, Huntington, Adams, Marion and Hamilton, which have been placed under quarantine.
The Indiana Department of Natural Resources established the policy that also limits hardwood firewood from the lower peninsula of Michigan and 13 quarantined counties in Ohio.
The emerald ash borer, first found in northeast Indiana in 2004, has the potential to destroy all ash trees in the state, Ellis said.
