The Emerald Ash Borer has been detected in Tompkins County, in the Arnot Forest, the Cornell Chronicle is reporting.

The 4,200-acre forest is the largest teaching and research forest at Cornell University.

The groundkeepers told the Cornell Chronicle they were anticipating the arrival of the pest and have been managing the ash trees carefully for several years. Ash trees make up fifteen percent of the forest.

Mike Griggs made the initial discovery of emerald ash borers in February, when he peeled back the bark of an ash tree and found larve. He determined the infestation likely began years ago. .

Cornell will now examine their other properties and determine a course of action to contain the infestation.

"The trees won't die overnight, but now we know we have a couple of years instead of five or six years to react to this," said Brett Chedozy, manager of the Arnot Forest.

The pest had previously been detected within a 20-mile radius of the forest.