MADISON, Wis. -- Dozens of street and park trees were felled Wednesday as the state stepped up its plan to prevent widespread devastation to the ash tree by the emerald ash borer.

The insect has attacked ash trees in most neighboring states, with devastating results. In response, the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection plans to fell nearly 6,000 trees by next year in an effort to protect most of the rest.

Crews were busy using chainsaws and red paint Wednesday as they implemented the plan.

"The only way to really sample for this insect is to peel the tree, and in order to peel it you've got to cut in down," said Anna Healy, a pest, plant and disease specialist for the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture.

City crews teamed up with state ash borer survey crews to chop down some ash trees and cut into others to try to find out if the beetle is in the state. They peeled back the bark on some trees to check for the insect.

The emerald ash borer is a half-inch long and its larva is even tinier. But state and local scientists are setting up pseudo-woodworking shops in the middle of streets across Wisconsin to see if they can detect them. It's an investigative process that requires some delicate handiwork and a keen eye, officials said.

Jane Xiong of the state Department of Agriculture was looking on Wednesday for "galleries" -- or insect signs. She said that good native tree bugs leave straight lines on the trunk and emerald ash borers don't.

"If it were the emerald ash borer, you would see a gallery that was moving in a very serpentine motion," Xiong said.

Healy said it would be very easy to miss the insect if crews just ripped trough the bark.

"And the larva would be all over the ground and we wouldn't even know it," Healy said.

Officials said that by examining the trunks of trees and carving off pieces of bark on other trees to turn them into bait for the ash borer, they hope to limit the devastation.

Madison has well over 34,000 ash trees. Thirty of them fell Wednesday, but city foresters said a lot more would go if the ash borers spread across the area.

"The only way right now we know of to get rid of it is to eradicate, so if an insect is found, as I understand it from the state, in a half-mile radius, all ash trees would have to be removed," said Marla Eddy, a city of Madison forester.

Officials said they hope to find the bug early to limit the damage or not to find it at all. Michigan found the ash borer, and five years later, the state is facing losing 5 million ash trees.