Greendale Emerald Ash Borer Plan
August 31, 2010 | 12:41 PM Posted by the Department
of Public Works
The Greendale Board of Trustees has recently
authorized the Department of Public Works to begin
activities that will help to mitigate the devastating
effects of the Emerald Ash Borer.
Several areas in Wisconsin are now infected with the borer and the bright green insect has been discovered close to the Village in Franklin, Oak Creek and Cudahy. The original infestation in Newburg, Wisconsin has grown in size and the ash tree mortality there is extremely high.
Public Works Forestry personnel have been attending training and developing a response plan for more than four years, long before the pest was discovered in our state. The spread of EAB is difficult to predict and our plan offers the flexibility to deal with changing conditions.
In August of 2010 the Village hired a contractor to treat 500 ash trees on streets and terrace areas with a pesticide named Xytect. All trees were treated by a licensed contractor following all state safety guidelines.The treatment of forty to fifty percent of Village street trees each year for the next few years has two benefits.
First, the treatments will help to manage the tree die off by preventing fewer dead trees per year and secondly we hope to buy some time for other treatment methods to come on line. For reference purposes the Forestry Department has painted pink dots on the curb adjacent to the ash trees that were treated in the August, 2010 treatment cycle.
The other important part of any EAB plan is dealing with dead and dying trees. The Public Works Department will focus only on removing dead, diseased, deformed or EAB infected trees unless the infestation approaches epidemic proportions. There is a possibility that at some point most ash trees in a DNR quarantine zone would require removal but that would be a worst case scenario.
The Emerald Ash Borer has marched steadily through the heartland of the United States and several Canadian provinces. The options to save ash trees are very limited at this time, have shown marginal results and are quite expensive. The Greendale Forestry department will continue to be proactive in our Response Plan while maintaining a flexible treatment and removal approach. Please call 423-2133 with questions or comments.
Several areas in Wisconsin are now infected with the borer and the bright green insect has been discovered close to the Village in Franklin, Oak Creek and Cudahy. The original infestation in Newburg, Wisconsin has grown in size and the ash tree mortality there is extremely high.
Public Works Forestry personnel have been attending training and developing a response plan for more than four years, long before the pest was discovered in our state. The spread of EAB is difficult to predict and our plan offers the flexibility to deal with changing conditions.
In August of 2010 the Village hired a contractor to treat 500 ash trees on streets and terrace areas with a pesticide named Xytect. All trees were treated by a licensed contractor following all state safety guidelines.The treatment of forty to fifty percent of Village street trees each year for the next few years has two benefits.
First, the treatments will help to manage the tree die off by preventing fewer dead trees per year and secondly we hope to buy some time for other treatment methods to come on line. For reference purposes the Forestry Department has painted pink dots on the curb adjacent to the ash trees that were treated in the August, 2010 treatment cycle.
The other important part of any EAB plan is dealing with dead and dying trees. The Public Works Department will focus only on removing dead, diseased, deformed or EAB infected trees unless the infestation approaches epidemic proportions. There is a possibility that at some point most ash trees in a DNR quarantine zone would require removal but that would be a worst case scenario.
The Emerald Ash Borer has marched steadily through the heartland of the United States and several Canadian provinces. The options to save ash trees are very limited at this time, have shown marginal results and are quite expensive. The Greendale Forestry department will continue to be proactive in our Response Plan while maintaining a flexible treatment and removal approach. Please call 423-2133 with questions or comments.
