The South Dakota Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources confirmed the emerald ash borer has spread to Baltic.
The community is in the existing quarantine area, which includes Minnehaha, Lincoln, Turner and Union counties.
The DANR prohibits the movement of firewood out of these counties to slow the spread of the invasive insect.
“We all need to work together to slow the spread of EAB,” said DANR Secretary Hunter Roberts. “With the summer camping season here, firewood is the most common way EAB is moved from one location to another. Please follow the quarantine restrictions and buy it where you burn it.”
The emerald ash borer has killed tens of millions of ash trees since it was found in the U.S. in the early 2000s, according to the USDA Forest Service. It was first confirmed in southeast South Dakota in 2018.
