HARRISBURG — The discovery of an Emerald Ash Borer in Cranberry Township in 2007 led to a statewide restriction of all in-state movement of ash materials and all hardwood firewood.

Now the state quarantine of the Emerald Ash Borer beetle will be lifted April 15, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture.

However, a federal quarantine remains in effect, according to a department news release.

The Emerald Ash Borer is a highly invasive, wood-boring beetle that kills ash trees and poses a threat to the state’s $25 billion hardwoods industry.

Pennsylvania’s first Emerald Ash Borer was found in summer 2007 on an ash tree in Cranberry.

The arrival of the bug was no surprise to state experts, as it had arrived in packing crates in Michigan in 2002 and chomped its way into several adjacent states and Canada.

The agriculture department began canvassing counties surrounding Butler, and found the insect in a handful surrounding Butler County.

The department ordered an immediate quarantine that prohibited the transport of ash wood out of the quarantine area. Counties adjacent to those known to contain the borers were also quarantined in an effort to slow the insect’s spread.

By August 2010, the quarantine had risen to 43 of the state’s 67 counties, the release stated.

Because of the beetle’s aggressive movement across Pennsylvania, the in-state quarantine is now unnecessary.

“Lifting our quarantine will allow free movement on Emerald Ash Borer-regulated materials within Pennsylvania,” said acting Agriculture Secretary George Greig in the release. “As Emerald Ash Borer has moved rapidly across the state, the in-state quarantine restrictions no longer serve a productive purpose.”

A parallel federal quarantine, also established in 2007, will remain effective in Pennsylvania to help stop the spread into other states. International and federal interstate restrictions will apply to exporting Emerald Ash Borer-regulated materials from Pennsylvania to non-quarantined domestic areas and regulating countries.

In addition to Pennsylvania, the beetle is attacking ash trees in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New York, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin, according to the release.