‘Resistance is
futile,’ according to Parks Commissioner Scott Vreeland
by Tesha M. Christensen
Wondering why some trees in the neighborhood have been marked
with green tape?
They’re ash trees. And within 10 years, the city expects them
to die, victims of the tiny, green Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) bug.
In all, Minneapolis expects to lose 20% of its boulevard
trees or 38,000. There are an estimated total of 200,000 ash trees in the city.
The cost of removal, stump grinding and replanting of these trees may exceed
$26 million. This does not include the tens of thousands of ash trees growing
in parks and natural areas such as along the Mississippi River corridor.
ASH VS. ELM
The situation now is different than the one facing elms in
the 60s, according to Minneapolis Park Commissioner Scott Vreeland. Elms could
be saved if they did not come in contact with Dutch Elm Disease, and because of
that it was effective to remove the infected trees to save others. Emerald Ash
Borer kills all. Plus, the dead trees are brittle and are likely to fall on
homes and vehicles.
“Resistance is futile,” Vreeland said. “Basically it will
destroy a species.”
While some cities, including St. Paul and Milwaukee, have
decided to treat their ash trees with insecticides, Minneapolis has opted to
take remove all the ash trees on city-owned property.
DANGER OF LARGE-SCALE CHEMICAL TREATMENT
Why not use chemicals to save the trees? According to
Vreeland, the insecticides don’t actually save the tree although it may prolong
its life. It does, however, kill every last insect currently living on the
tree. No one knows the long-term impact of using these chemicals to treat
Emerald Ash Borer. Those answering the safety questions are often the same
companies that stand to make millions of dollars in profit if the chemicals are
used, Vreeland observed.
He recalls that
in the 1960s, DDT was used because it was “perfectly safe for people and
animals.”
It’s one thing to treat the ash tree in your backyard that
you use to hang your hammock, but it’s another thing to treat 38,000 trees with
insecticide, pointed out Vreeland.
“Basically you have people pouring poisons in their backyards
and boulevards, and it is very likely it will go into the stormwater system. It
has quite a toxic affect on aquatic life,” said Vreeland. “The city of
Minneapolis has encouraged people to not use chemicals.”
However, citizens can opt to pay for insecticide treatments
on their own property as well as their boulevard trees, using certified
companies. Learn more about the chemicals and get a list of those with permits
at the park web site www.minneapolisparks.org/EAB.
$1.2 MILLION LEVY
The city is embarking on an 8-year plan to remove all of its
ash trees. It plans to remove no more than 20% of the trees on a block at a
time.
The ash trees will be replaced with other varieties, such as
oak, honey locust and ginkgo.
“Species diversity is really our best weapon,” said Vreeland.
How will the city pay for these new trees and the cost of
tearing down the old ones? The parks department has asked for a $1.2 million
tree levy for each of the next 8 years. It would cost each taxpayer about $8 a
year. The final decision on this levy, which is supported by Mayor Rybak, will
be made in December.
Homeowners can request that their boulevard ash trees be
removed by going to the park web site.
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Parks Commissioner Scott Vreeland reminds citizens that trees are dying right now because of the late-summer drought. “We can talk about EAB but if we don’t water our trees they will all die,” he noted. “So water your trees."
POTENTIAL IMPACT OF EAB
The Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) is an invasive pest introduced
from Asia that attacks ash trees (Fraxinus spp.). This metallic wood boring
beetle was first found in Detroit, MI, and Ontario, Canada, in 2002. It is
believed to have arrived in shipping crates. Since the initial discovery it has
been identified in multiple Eastern and Midwestern states.
The destructive potential of EAB is enormous because there is
currently no known cure. It has already killed more than 40 million ash trees
nationwide, most of which were in southeast Michigan. Minnesota has the
potential to lose 867 million trees because it has one of the highest volumes
of forestland ash in the U.S.
As bad as these losses would be, they do not address the
losses that would be suffered by municipalities. In Minneapolis the impact to
the total urban forest canopy would be significant because 21 percent of all
trees, both public and private, are ash. This translates into more than 200,000
trees.
On public property, Minneapolis would lose approximately
38,000 ash trees growing on boulevards. The cost of removal, stump grinding and
replanting of these trees would exceed $26 million. This does not include the
tens of thousands of ash trees growing in parks and natural areas such as along
the Mississippi River corridor.
From
http://www.minneapolisparks.org/default.asp?PageID=1220
LEARN MORE
• Minneapolis Parks: http://www.minneapolisparks.org/default.asp?PageID=1059
• Neighborhood maps of boulevard trees:
http://www.minneapolisparks.org/default.asp?PageID=1220
• Minnesota Department of Agriculture: www.mda.state.mn.us/en/plants/pestmanagement/eab.aspx
• Considerations before selecting a treatment program: http://www.minneapolisparks.org/documents/caring/EAB_Homeowner_Tree_Treatment.pdf
This story was published in the September 2013 edition of the Longfellow/Nokomis Messenger. http://www.longfellownokomismessenger.com/minneapolis-to-replace-its-ash-trees/
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