(PORTAGE, Ind.) Officials have ordered an emergency closure of a trail at the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore to remove trees killed by the Emerald Ash Borer beetle.
The Little Calumet River Trail inside the national park will be closed from Monday through Friday, park officials said in a statement. During that time, crews will cut down a large number of dead ash trees along a boardwalk section of the trail.
Park officials think the Emerald Ash Borer killed the trees, the statement said. Indiana is one of 19 states with documented infestations of the invasive species.
The bright, metallic green insect is only about a half inch long, but its larvae tunnel under bark, disrupting a tree’s transport of water and nutrients and eventually killing it.
To help stop the spread of the Emerald Ash Borer, campers should buy local firewood near campgrounds instead of bringing in firewood, officials said.