Quarantine Area for Emerald Ash Borer Expanded in Cass County

The Minnesota Department of Agriculture has expanded a quarantine in Cass County designed to limit the spread of emerald ash borer.

Additional infestations of the insect have been found near Hackensack. The MDA will now quarantine the southern two-thirds of Cass County.

The northern border of the quarantine area will now extend from the western county line along Highway 34 to Walker, Highway 200 to the southern exterior border of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, north to Highway 200, and east to the county border.

A portion of Cass County was first quarantined in Oct. 2023. Quarantines limit the movement of firewood, mulch, and all ash material out of the quarantined areas.

Emerald ash borer was first discovered in Minnesota in 2009 and is now confirmed in 47 counties in the state. The insect larvae kill ash trees by tunneling under the bark and feeding on the part of the tree that moves nutrients up and down the truck.