The Times Argus reports that forest managers in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states plan to monitor ground-nesting wasps in order to track the spread of the emerald ash borer, a wood-boring beetle that has killed more than 25 million ash trees in the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic states since 2002 and continues spreading toward the Northeast. The wasps feed on beetles, and by monitoring which beetles the wasps carry home, foresters hope they will be able to detect emerald ash borer infestations more quickly than by current methods, which [can] take up to three years."

"Currently, foresters looking for the boring beetle often have to kill trees to try to save a forest. One method involves stripping bark off ash trees, which is costly, time-consuming and kills the tree. A newer method involves deploying purple prism traps high in tree canopies. It is [also] costly and time consuming, but spares the tree." Forest managers explain that the "the wasp method is simpler and cheaper and does not harm trees." In addition, the wasps will not have to be imported because they "live in a wide area of the United States, from Canada to Mexico and as far west as the Rockies."

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The Brattleboro Reformer reports that this month the Vermont Department of Health will starting its program of collecting and testing dead birds to track the spread of the West Nile Virus. According to state epidemiologist Patsy Tassler, "It is important to have current data [on the disease] in case there are reports of human cases." Indeed, the state wants to know if the risk to Vermonters might be increasing.

Last year, "370 birds were collected across the state, 55 were tested, and the three that tested positive were all found in Windham County." Tassler stressed that these results do not mean that Windham County is the only Vermont county with infected birds. "In past years West Nile has been found all over Vermont." Tassler concluded, "The 2007 data are probably more of an indication of how many birds were reported in the southeastern part of the state."

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Vermont Public Radio reports that a new report by the Conservation Law Foundation (CLF) says "the state has failed to adequately control pollution from large farms." The report notes that farms "require Clean Water Act discharge permits" and the state "has not implemented the permit program." 

The report is based on the state's records and inspections and found "that there have been significant discharges from a number of industrial-scale agriculture operations that are subject to the Clean Water Act." In addition, the report says, these discharges "haven't been addressed, even though there have been a number of inspections." Notably, "farm run off is a major cause of pollution to Lake Champlain. And the state lists 30 rivers, streams and lakes around the state that are damaged by farm pollution."

Agriculture Secretary Roger Allbee disagreed with the CLF findings. He said "his agency aggressively implements the large farm regulations." He added that the Department has also, on a number of occassions, "indicated to farmers [that] by a certain date they have to meet standards, [or] be under penalty.''

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Vermont Public Radio reports that Fish and Wildlife officials are hoping to expand a program to control lampreys -- an eel variety -- on Lake Champlain by using lampricide in new locations including the Lamoille River, Otter Creek in Vergennes, and Mill Brook in Port Henry, New York. According to Brad Young of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, "The sites were selected because lamprey were found in those lake tributaries during a routine survey." Notably, "lampreys attack soft-bodied fish like the Atlantic trout and Atlantic Salmon. They either kill fish outright, or cause wounds that eventually result in death." The animals are also "opportunistic and are likely moving from better habitat to new ponds and rivers."

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Vermont Public Radio reports that "New England's moose population is under siege from tiny ticks that have become so numerous in recent years that biologists are concerned about the long-term effect on the animals." The ticks, which can leave moose anemic, emaciated, and unable to survive winter, "appear to be more plentiful in the North Woods because of high densities of moose and deer and a general trend toward shorter winters." A recent study in New Hampshire found that "the average moose carries about 35,000 ticks, but they can have as many as 160,000, or about 50 per square inch of hide."

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