Henry and Knox Counties Added to EAB Quarantine in Illinois

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – The Illinois Department of Agriculture has added two, new counties to its existing 39-county emerald ash borer (EAB) quarantine.

The boundary expansion became necessary this fall after infestations of the tree-killing beetle were confirmed for the first time in Henry and Knox counties. The pest was discovered in Henry County at a park on the northwest side of Kewanee through the department’s EAB trapping program and in Knox County by alert grounds staff at Knox College in Galesburg.

The quarantine, which now covers 40 percent of the entire state, is intended to prevent the artificial or “human-assisted” spread of the beetle through the movement of infested wood and nursery stock. Specifically, it prohibits the movement of the following items from quarantined areas: ...more