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LANSING, Mich. - Michigan is planning a weeklong pre-Memorial Day campaign to educate residents about the emerald ash borer infestation which has killed more than 6 million trees in Michigan.
Gov. Jennifer Granholm declared May 24 the start of Emerald Ash Borer Awareness Week.
Motorists can have their firewood inspected at selected rest stops and will receive coffee cups printed with information warning about the destructive Asian beetle.
State officials also plan to air public service announcements, post warnings in state and private parks, and run alerts on billboards near quarantined areas in southeast Michigan and on northbound roads headed to tourist spots.
"As Memorial Day approaches, signaling the beginning of Michigan's treasured camping and tourism season, it is a great time to think about ways to preserve our state's fabulous natural resources for now and future generations," Granholm said in a statement Friday.
Also next week, a state House committee is scheduled to consider legislation that would give up to $100 in tax credits to homeowners who bought trees to replace ash trees removed from their property because of emerald ash borer. The House Agriculture and Resource Management Committee will take up the bill, one of three in the package, on May 25.
Another piece of the legislation would give up to $5,000 in tax credits to businesses for removing trees affected by emerald ash borer if they charged less than the actual cost of the removal. Tax credits would go to businesses that sell replacement trees to municipalities affected by emerald ash borer.