JACKSON, Miss. – The Mississippi Forestry Commission (MFC) and Plan-It Geo recently launched a new online tool for communities across the state to prepare and plan for potential Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) management. To access the EAB Preparedness Cost Calculator tool, visit: https://pg-cloud.com/Mississippi/
The Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) is an exotic and invasive beetle first discovered in the U.S. in Detroit in 2002. It is the most destructive forest pest in North America, killing hundreds of millions of ash trees in the United States since 2002. To date, EAB has not been identified in Mississippi but has been found nearby in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Tennessee. There are an estimated 26 million ash trees in Mississippi. For more information on the EAB, visit http://www.emeraldashborer.info
The EAB Preparedness Cost Calculator tool is designed to help cities, towns, campuses, and neighborhood associations evaluate EAB management options and costs over a period of time. It also allows communities to map and inventory ash tree locations using a smartphone, tablet, or computer. Using ash tree populations and estimated costs of potential management strategies entered by individual users, the tool calculates annual and cumulative costs of different EAB management strategies (combinations of tree removal, replacement, and insecticide treatment).
“The EAB Preparedness Cost Calculator is meant to be a simple, quick tool. To accomplish that, it has two modes,” said Ian Hanou, Plan-It Geo. “The first uses actual locations of individual ash trees mapped using the ‘Plot’ tool which requires a login account. For those who choose not to inventory ash trees in the field, the second option allows users to simply enter an estimated number of ash trees. A scenario report is produced based on the number of ash trees, their size, cost factors, and how many you decide to remove, treat (inject), or replant. The scenario reports can be printed, saved, and compared side-by-side.”
The app is based on Tree Plotter tree inventory software. No installation is needed, only a web browser. Visit https://pg-cloud.com/Mississippi/ to get started without an account, and enter an estimated number of ash trees into the calculator. Or, to request an account to be able to inventory your ash trees and save EAB cost scenarios, please email Todd Matthews ([email protected]) from the Mississippi Forestry Commission who will set-up your organization and provide a username/ password. The tool is made possible through a grant from the USDA Forest Service.
Established in 1926, the Mississippi Forestry Commission (MFC) protects the state’s valuable forest resources from wildfire, manages approximately 480,000 acres of forested School Trust Land, and delivers quality forest management services and assistance to both rural and urban landowners. Our mission is to provide active leadership in forest protection, forest management, forest inventory, and effective forest information distribution, necessary for Mississippi’s sustainable forest-based economy.
There are approximately 19.8 million forested acres in Mississippi. The forestry and forest products industry has a $12.3 billion economic impact on the state of Mississippi and represents almost 70,000 jobs.
