Minnesota's Emerald Ash Borer Quarantine in 2026: What It Means for Your Firewood and Ash Trees

The emerald ash borer (EAB) is no longer a Twin Cities problem creeping slowly outward — in 2026 it is a statewide reality. As of this spring, the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) has confirmed EAB in 60 Minnesota counties, with Todd County among the most recent additions. Just as significantly for our service area, the MDA is expanding its quarantine in Kandiyohi County to cover the entire county, with a public comment period running through July 10, 2026 and formal adoption recommended for July 15, 2026.

If you own ash trees anywhere from St. Cloud to the Twin Cities to the lakes country of west-central Minnesota, the quarantine now affects you. Here is what the rules actually say, what they mean for your firewood and your trees, and what you can do about it.

What the EAB Quarantine Actually Regulates

A quarantine is the state’s primary tool for slowing the human-assisted spread of EAB. The beetle only flies a few miles on its own — it travels long distances when people move infested wood. To prevent that, the MDA restricts the movement of four “regulated articles” out of any quarantined county:

• All non-coniferous firewood (any hardwood firewood, not just ash)
• Ash logs and ash tree waste
• Ash wood chips and mulch

Under the MDA quarantine rules, these materials may not be moved out of a quarantined area — treated or untreated — without an MDA certificate, which requires a signed compliance agreement. The goal is simple: keep potentially infested wood from leapfrogging into a healthy county.

The One Rule Every Homeowner Should Follow: Don’t Move Firewood

You don’t need to memorize county boundaries to do the right thing. The single most important habit is the one the state and the Minnesota DNR have promoted for years: buy it where you burn it. A campfire’s worth of firewood hauled from an infested county to your cabin up north can start a brand-new infestation that takes decades and millions of dollars to fight.

Practical guidance for Minnesota:

• Buy firewood near where you’ll burn it — ideally within about 10 miles, and never from more than 50 miles away.
• Use MDA-certified, heat-treated firewood when you travel, especially to state parks and campgrounds.
• Don’t haul “leftover” firewood home, and don’t take it with you to the lake.
• If you have an ash tree removed, make sure your contractor disposes of the wood in-county and in compliance with the quarantine.

2026: The Quarantine Has Reached West-Central Minnesota

For a long time, homeowners in the lakes country assumed EAB was an “east of St. Cloud” problem. That is no longer true:

• Kandiyohi County (Willmar and the Willmar Lakes Area) is under a quarantine that is expanding county-wide in July 2026. If you own ash in this area, your trees are squarely in the zone — see our EAB treatment options for Willmar.
• Pope County recorded its first confirmed EAB find in 2024, in Glenwood Township. Ash along Lake Minnewaska and throughout the county are now at risk — here’s our Glenwood EAB treatment service.
• Otter Tail County — directly northwest of Alexandria — is fully quarantined, and Todd County to the east is the state’s newest confirmed county. That leaves Alexandria and Douglas County surrounded by confirmed infestations and firmly inside the high-risk radius. We cover this in our Alexandria EAB treatment service.

The pattern is the same everywhere EAB lands: once it’s confirmed in your county, untreated ash trees typically die within three to five years. The trees that survive are the ones whose owners acted before the beetle arrived in force.

What This Means for You as an Ash Tree Owner

The quarantine is the regional defense. Treatment is your property-level defense. The two work together. The University of Minnesota Extension’s EAB guidance is clear that a healthy ash tree within 15 miles of a known infestation is a strong candidate for protective treatment — and with 60 counties confirmed, most of the state is now inside that radius.

The most effective, lowest-impact protection is a professional trunk injection of emamectin benzoate, which protects a tree for two to three years per application. As an ISA Certified Arborist and Minnesota Licensed Pesticide Applicator, that is the core of our EAB treatment service — and you can see the full list of communities we serve across Central, west-central, and metro Minnesota.

---

Frequently Asked Questions

How many Minnesota counties have emerald ash borer in 2026?

As of spring 2026, the Minnesota Department of Agriculture has confirmed EAB in 60 counties, with Todd County among the most recent. The MDA maintains an up-to-date quarantine map, and new counties are added regularly as the beetle spreads.

Can I move firewood within Minnesota?

You can move firewood within a quarantined county, but you cannot move regulated wood — including all non-coniferous firewood, ash logs, and ash chips — out of a quarantined county without an MDA certificate. The safest practice for everyone is to buy firewood where you burn it and use certified heat-treated firewood when traveling.

Is my ash tree at risk if EAB hasn't been confirmed in my exact town?

Likely yes. EAB is often present for several years before it's officially detected, and the University of Minnesota considers any healthy ash within 15 miles of a known infestation to be at higher risk. With confirmations now surrounding west-central Minnesota — including Pope, Kandiyohi, Otter Tail, and Todd counties — proactive treatment is the prudent choice for valued ash trees in this region.

Does the quarantine mean I have to remove my ash trees?

No. The quarantine only regulates moving wood, not whether you keep your trees. In fact, treating and keeping a healthy ash tree is usually far less expensive than removing and replacing it. A certified arborist can assess each tree and recommend treatment, monitoring, or removal based on its health and location.