FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Wednesday, June 18, 2025 

MEDIA CONTACT: Ben Koisti, Ben.Koisti@state.sd.us  

 

Emerald Ash Borer Confirmed in Watertown, South Dakota 

 

PIERRE S.D. – The South Dakota Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources (DANR) has confirmed Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) in Watertown, South Dakota.  

 

DANR has expanded the existing State Plant Pest Quarantine to include Codington County. The updated quarantine area includes all of Brookings, Grant, Minnehaha, Lincoln, Turner, Union, and now Codington County. The pest has also been identified in 14 communities including Baltic, Brookings, Brandon, Canton, Crooks, Dakota Dunes, Hartford, Humboldt, Lennox, Milbank, Sioux Falls, Tea, Worthing, and now Watertown. 

 

The quarantine is designed to slow the spread of Emerald Ash Borer. 

 

The quarantine, which is in place year-round, prohibits the movement of firewood and ash materials out of the quarantined counties. Movement of firewood from any hardwood species, whether intended for commercial or private use, is also restricted. If an ash tree is infested before it is cut, the wood may still contain EAB larvae. An individual split piece of ash firewood can have five or more adults emerge yet this summer. The Department has also established an external embargo on untreated firewood entering South Dakota from all states east of the eastern border of South Dakota and all counties where EAB is known to exist in other states.  

 

“The detection of EAB in Watertown reinforces the importance of working together to combat the spread of EAB. Remember, when camping this summer, buy it where you burn it,” said DANR Secretary Hunter Roberts. “Quarantines are effective at slowing the spread, and it’s essential that everyone continues to follow the restrictions in place.”  

 

Treatments made early in the season can kill the young larvae before they are able to injure the tree. Property owners within a 15-mile radius of Watertown wanting to save their ash trees should contact a commercial applicator as soon as possible.  

 

EAB is a boring beetle that feeds on all species of North American ash. It was first detected in the United States in 2002, and in South Dakota in 2018. 

 

For more information about EAB or to report a suspected sighting please visit https://emeraldashborerinsouthdakota.sd.gov/. 

 

- 30-