Documentary About the Devastating Infestation of the Asian Longhorned Beetle to Air on WGBH

Documentary About the Devastating Infestation of the Asian Longhorned Beetle to Air on WGBH

ARLINGTON, Va., Aug. 12 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A different sort of "Beetlemania" - the invasion of the Asian longhorned beetle (ALB) - has begun in the Northeast, and the potential threat to region's trees and forests is enormous. In an effort to warn residents to keep an eye out for these tree-killing pests, WGBH, a member station of the Public Broadcasting Service, located in Boston, MA, is airing Lurking in the Trees, on Sunday, August 15, 2010 at 1 p.m., EDT.

The film tells the story of the infestation of ALB that was discovered in Worcester, MA in 2008. To prevent the spread of the beetle, over 27,000 trees were cut down, turning Worcester's once canopied streets into stark naked roadways. A newly discovered ALB infestation in Jamaica Plain, a Boston neighborhood, in early July of this year may have been from beetles that escaped out of Worcester - and more of these newer, smaller infestations may be discovered in other cities and towns across the northeastern United States.

"Once informed, homeowners can play an invaluable role in detecting the presence of foreign pests that have previously gone undetected," says Frank Lowenstein, director of the Conservancy's Forest Health Program. "The curiosity of a Worcester resident, who found and reported a strange-looking bug in her backyard, started a massive effort to prevent the Asian longhorned beetle from spreading through the United States."

Lurking in the Trees is a production of The Hamburger Company. Its sponsors are The Nature Conservancy, the United State Department of Agriculture - Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, the Grantham Foundation for the Environment, the United State Forest Service and the Continental Dialogue on Non-native Forest Insects and Diseases.

To learn more about Lurking in the Trees, and about other forest pests like the ALB, log onto www.lurkinginthetrees.org or visit www.dontmovefirewood.org.

The Nature Conservancy is a leading conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people. The Conservancy and its more than one million members have been responsible for the protection of more than 18 million acres in the United States and have helped preserve more than 117 million acres in Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific. Visit us on the Web at www.nature.org.

Source: The Nature Conservancy

CONTACT: Kerry A. Crisley, +1-617-227-7017 ext. 316, kcrisley@TNC.ORG;
or Cindy Yeast, +1-202-236-5413, cdyeast@earthlink.net

Web Site: http://www.dontmovefirewood.org/
http://www.lurkinginthetrees.org/
http://www.nature.org/

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