Maine Outdoor Journal

Maine Forest Service entomologist Charlene Donahue says it's only a matter of time before the emerald ash borer beetle arrives in Maine and decimates the ash trees here.

Native American basket makers in Maine worry that will spell the end of their long tradition. The state's tribes make their traditional baskets from the wood of ash trees.

On Saturday, a seminar at the University of Maine's Hudson Museum in Orono will share the story of this tradition and what is being done to chronicle it so it can be saved for generations to come.

"The tribal basket making traces our creation story in that tree, in the ash tree. Our story (is) that our culture shot an arrow into that tree and from that tree came the people from the dawn, the Wabanaki," said Theresa Secord, executive director of the Maine Indian Basketmakers Alliance.

"There isn't a wood like ours. It's the silk of basket woods. We have been known for our high artistry in basket making, and have been for centuries," she said.

The Maine Indian Basketmakers Alliance, founded in 1993, has been documenting and making videos of its traditional methods, because if Maine's ash trees are wiped out, it would take another 60 years for the tree species to return and the tradition to continue, Secord said.

"We've spent 17 years saving the tradition and lowering the average age of a basket maker from 63 in 1992 to today's current statewide average of 40," Secord said. "Our friends who are tribal basket makers from the Great Lakes states tell us millions of ash trees in Michigan have been killed."

This Saturday's seminar and market is the 16th held by the alliance.

There are 13 states and two provinces infested with the beetle.

Since firewood is the most common transport for the insect, its arrival in Maine seems almost guaranteed, Donahue said.

"It is not an if, it is a when," Donahue said. "It is widespread in the Midwest. It's in western New York and western Pennsylvania. We are concerned it's coming this way. We've been trapping for it for a number of years."

For the past few years, the Maine Forest Service has done everything to guard against the beetles' arrival, and to warn campers and woodlot owners of its danger to the ash forest.

The service is even tracking a native wasp known to prey on the beetle. Challenging as that is, the method is the best way to find the beetle and investigate the early stages of its arrival, Donahue said.

However, it's only a matter of time, Donahue said. And ash trees in North America have no natural defense against the beetle, which can kill a stand quickly.

Even those with no interest or awareness of the art inherent in Native American basket making will notice a change if the beetle arrives in Maine, Donahue promised.

"Ash is often used as a street tree in town centers, and it is very costly to get rid of dead trees," Donahue said. "So this is going to be a problem when it does get to Maine. How do towns and cities handle cutting down a large number of dead trees in a short amount of time?

"When the infestation gets going, we could have hundreds of trees all dead at the same time."

Staff Writer Deirdre Fleming can be contacted at 791-6452 or at: dfleming@pressherald.com