City of Salem

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News Release

City Continues Management Plan As Invasive Beetle Is Detected In Salem - 08/06/26

SALEM, Ore. — A known invasive insect species has been identified for the first time in Salem following earlier detections in Marion County and other parts of Oregon. We have been anticipating this detection and planning for the arrival of the insect for several years.

 

Today, the Oregon Department of Forestry announced the first detection of the emerald ash borer, or EAB, in Salem, as well as Beaverton and Rockcreek. EAB is a harmful beetle that attacks and kills ash trees. It has spread across North America since it was first found in Michigan in 2002, destroying hundreds of millions of ash trees.

 

The first sightings of this beetle in Oregon occurred in 2022 near Forest Grove. Since then, surveys have found EAB in Woodburn and other parts of Marion County, and Marion County has been one of several counties under a permanent quarantine since 2024.

 

City staff discovered a suspected EAB in a trap in south Salem near West Fork Pringle Creek in July. The identification was confirmed by staff from ODF and the Oregon Department of Agriculture.

 

We have been preparing for the arrival of EAB in the city for several years. An important first step was conducting an inventory of street, park and natural area ash trees. We identified nearly 4,000 ash trees along streets, in parks and in more than 400 acres of natural areas with a high density of ash.

 

We have also:

  • Created and published an Emerald Ash Borer Readiness and Response Plan  
  • Halted the planting of new ash trees
  • Begun preemptive removal of ash trees in poor health
  • Begun creating management plans for identified ash trees on City-owned property
  • Begun injecting high-value ash trees to protect them from EAB

 

So far, City experts have injected insecticide into about 600 ash trees identified to be in good health to protect them from EAB. These injections began in Summer 2025 in the northern part of the city. Another 600 trees will be injected in Spring 2026. This process is highly effective at killing EAB and keeping trees alive through their natural lifespan if treatment is continued every 2-3 years.

 

The City of Salem will continue to carry out other work to mitigate and contain EAB, including:

  • Underplanting in natural areas around ash trees
  • Replacing removed ash trees along streets and parks with a wide variety of other species to add resilience and diversity to the urban canopy
  • Providing education and outreach about EAB through social and print media and at community events

 

Learn more about Salem’s response plans

 

Once EAB is in a new area, it cannot be eradicated. The best we are able to do is to slow the spread of the insect, which can best be done by not moving firewood or other ash materials more than 10 miles from where it has been found and not moving ash outside of the quarantine zone. This currently includes the Marion County portion of Salem.

 

Salem’s EAB page provides a guide on how to identify ash trees. Residents can protect their trees by paying a certified pest applicator to inject it with insecticide. Other options include

  • Removing the ash tree
  • Replanting a different tree
  • Underplanting the ash tree to ensure other native or appropriate landscape species will take its place.

For more information on management options, visit www.OregonEAB.com.

 

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City Continues Management Plan As Invasive Beetle Is Detected In Salem - 08/06/26

SALEM, Ore. — A known invasive insect species has been identified for the first time in Salem following earlier detections in Marion County and other parts of Oregon. We have been anticipating this detection and planning for the arrival of the insect for several years.

 

Today, the Oregon Department of Forestry announced the first detection of the emerald ash borer, or EAB, in Salem, as well as Beaverton and Rockcreek. EAB is a harmful beetle that attacks and kills ash trees. It has spread across North America since it was first found in Michigan in 2002, destroying hundreds of millions of ash trees.

 

The first sightings of this beetle in Oregon occurred in 2022 near Forest Grove. Since then, surveys have found EAB in Woodburn and other parts of Marion County, and Marion County has been one of several counties under a permanent quarantine since 2024.

 

City staff discovered a suspected EAB in a trap in south Salem near West Fork Pringle Creek in July. The identification was confirmed by staff from ODF and the Oregon Department of Agriculture.

 

We have been preparing for the arrival of EAB in the city for several years. An important first step was conducting an inventory of street, park and natural area ash trees. We identified nearly 4,000 ash trees along streets, in parks and in more than 400 acres of natural areas with a high density of ash.

 

We have also:

  • Created and published an Emerald Ash Borer Readiness and Response Plan  
  • Halted the planting of new ash trees
  • Begun preemptive removal of ash trees in poor health
  • Begun creating management plans for identified ash trees on City-owned property
  • Begun injecting high-value ash trees to protect them from EAB

 

So far, City experts have injected insecticide into about 600 ash trees identified to be in good health to protect them from EAB. These injections began in Summer 2025 in the northern part of the city. Another 600 trees will be injected in Spring 2026. This process is highly effective at killing EAB and keeping trees alive through their natural lifespan if treatment is continued every 2-3 years.

 

The City of Salem will continue to carry out other work to mitigate and contain EAB, including:

  • Underplanting in natural areas around ash trees
  • Replacing removed ash trees along streets and parks with a wide variety of other species to add resilience and diversity to the urban canopy
  • Providing education and outreach about EAB through social and print media and at community events

 

Learn more about Salem’s response plans

 

Once EAB is in a new area, it cannot be eradicated. The best we are able to do is to slow the spread of the insect, which can best be done by not moving firewood or other ash materials more than 10 miles from where it has been found and not moving ash outside of the quarantine zone. This currently includes the Marion County portion of Salem.

 

Salem’s EAB page provides a guide on how to identify ash trees. Residents can protect their trees by paying a certified pest applicator to inject it with insecticide. Other options include

  • Removing the ash tree
  • Replanting a different tree
  • Underplanting the ash tree to ensure other native or appropriate landscape species will take its place.

For more information on management options, visit www.OregonEAB.com.

 

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