Chautauqua County is on the front lines of a war being waged against the invasive emerald ash borer and the stakes - the 900 million ash trees across New York - are high.
That was the message Wednesday from U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-New York, who came to Crawford Furniture to talk about the borer's impact on the state and its furniture manufacturers.
''The ash borer is not yet a problem in Chautauqua County - but if we do nothing, it will be,'' Schumer said. ''That's why we've got to act. The ash here in New York is the best ash in the United States.
The ash tree is one of our most abundant and economically beneficial trees. We can't stand by and do nothing.''
Schumer called the ash borer sighting in Cattaraugus County a wakeup call.
''These borers have not spread to a point in New York where we're just tearing our hair out,'' he said. ''But they will if we do nothing. Places like Crawford Furniture depend on ash. We know exactly what has to be done - it's just a matter of doing it.''
During his remarks, Schumer unveiled a three-point plan he said will help fight the spread of the ash borer.
He urged the federal Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, a division of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, to release emergency money and provide the technical assistance necessary to fight off the borer.
''APHIS coordinates eradication and suppression efforts for emerging plant pests,'' he said. ''With their assistance, the state Department of Environmental Conservation will be able to survey the state to determine the extent of the infestation and create and enact a plan to fight the spread of the ash borer. They have an obligation to provide this state with help to fight the infestation - the ash borer will have a devastating impact on the state's economy if we don't act.''
Schumer also urged the U.S. Forest Service to approve and release funding to fight the ash borer. He said the state DEC has applied for economic recovery funds that can be used for its invasive species early detection and rapid response project - funds that will be made available through the U.S. Forest Service.
''They requested $3.1 million not too long ago,'' Schumer said. ''If they get this money, they'll be able to put 60 people on the ground in campgrounds, parks and in the woods around the infected trees. We need that money and we need those people.''
Public education is an important part of fighting the ash borer infestation, Schumer said. He said he supports the DEC's recent application for another $2.5 million in funding from the U.S. Forest Service that will be used to help enforce firewood regulations, enact public education campaigns and improve infrastructure at campgrounds to help prevent the spread of the ash borer.
''The good news here is that we don't need legislation to get at this money,'' Schumer said. ''It's already been appropriated and the state agency has applied for it. In this case, the state is on the ball and it's the federal government that has to step up to the plate.''
County Executive Greg Edwards said the ash borer is ''a real issue and a real problem.''
''It's significant here,'' he said. ''Our environment provides for the growth of the best ash there is. We've got industries everywhere in this state that depend on this top-of-the-line, world-class raw material. We need to take immediate action or all our mature ash will be killed off.''
Edwards said work is already being done in Chautauqua County to map the borer's presence and trap the beetles.
''People will notice some purple triangular things hanging in the trees in different spots throughout the county,'' he said. ''They're traps. The DEC has partnered with a local business and they've been hanging them throughout the county.''
The traps are part of an effort by state officials and the USDA to conduct a thorough survey of trees and assess the extent and age of the infestation.
Schumer said information from this survey will help determine the response strategy, which could range from the removal of infested trees to ash product quarantines.
