SALT LAKE CITY — Foresters call it one of the most destructive forest insects ever. Even though the emerald ash borer has not arrived in Utah yet, the state and several cities are making proactive battle plans by forming a task force and bracing for the destructive, invasive beetle.

The EAB has been around for some time. The shiny, emerald green pest has already wiped out an estimated 50 million trees in eastern states and arrived in Boulder, Colorado, two years ago.

"Some people are going as far as saying it is the most destructive pest that we've seen in North America," said Meridith Perkins, Urban and Community Forestry coordinator with the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire & State Lands. "It's basically wiping out the entire ash population."

State foresters believe it's just a matter of time before the EAB shows up in Utah, and takes a toll on the urban forest. The ash tree grows well in Utah and grows to be large in a relatively short period of time. The trees can be found throughout local communities.

"They have a nice, large shade, and they have a lovely fall color," said Perkins, highlighting their popularity.

The trees line two of the main walkways outside at the Salt Lake City and County Building, as well as several streets in South Salt Lake. Perkins estimates Utah's public urban forest is 15 to 20 percent ash and as much as 40 percent in newer communities.

"When you lose this kind of canopy, it makes a big, dramatic impact," she said.

That could happen when the EAB arrives, which could be as soon as this summer or as many as 10 years down the road, according to Perkins. Still, she doesn't recommend people start chopping down their trees.

"(The EAB is) metallic green. It's about a half-inch long and one-eighth of an inch in diameter," said Joaquin Garcia, parks supervisor for South Salt Lake.

The city is among a few in Utah taking proactive measures. Experts say within two or three years of EAB infestation, the ash tree is dead.

"Whether it's a healthy tree, or a sick tree, it doesn't even matter," Perkins said.

The EAB attacks all ash species. It has wiped out millions of trees in 20 states since it was first detected in the U.S. in Michigan in 2002. Researchers believe it arrived in wood-packing materials from its native Asia.

"Unfortunately, there's not a lot that we can do, at this point, to try to save a lot of them," said Garcia, looking at towering ash trees in a South Salt Lake neighborhood.

South Salt Lake, Salt Lake City, Bluffdale and Provo are all working with the EAB task force. They will not plant new ash trees and recommend their residents do the same.

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"That's the No. 1 thing," Perkins said. "Plant something other than ash."

The state and the four cities also want residents to keep an eye on any ash trees on their property. Signs of infestation include a small "D"-shaped exit hole in the bark, thinning of the tree's canopy, new growth at the base of the tree, bark splits and woodpecker feeding.

In parts of the world where EAB is native, the species of ash trees are able to fight off the insect with some success. For the most part, the trees and the borer can live in harmony. But because the American species of ash trees do not have natural defenses to the EAB, an infestation means a devastating loss of trees.

The task force also asks all Utah residents not to transport firewood because the beetle is most often spread by people moving infested wood.

"There's no actual evidence that it is here," said Garcia. "But we don't truly know that. It could be here."

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