It’s time again to talk about the Emerald Ash Borer and the Ash trees these beetles infest. And since we do realize this is potentially not the most enjoyable of subjects, we’ve 𝙘𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙛𝙪𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙘𝙪𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙙 this accompanying Ash Borer glamor shot in an effort to make this conversation a bit more fun! Or unnecessarily unnerving. Honestly, it could go either way. 

Some of you might remember a post from last September where we talked about needing to remove several diseased borough Ash trees that had been heavily infested with these insects. (Note: Ash Borers attack only Ash trees and usually kill them inside of three years.) After much thought, the Shade Tree Commission has changed our management policy for Ash trees, and last fall we decided to discontinue the treatment of all of them within the public right of way. This wasn’t an easy decision, but insecticides are our only tool to fight the infestations, and not only are they not guaranteed to save the trees, they can also have negative impacts on the immediate surrounding environment. In addition, their necessary repeated applications aren’t financially viable in the long run. So, taking all of this into account, we came to the conclusion our resources will be better spent on planting new, healthy trees and taking our best care of the other existing tree species in the borough.

On this note, you might see several more trees being removed this month, but please know they’ll be replaced in the fall (the next planting season) through a bare root tree grant program. We’ll update everyone with further details on this once we get closer to the planting date, but, in the meantime, we thank you for your understanding.

Stay cool out there, friends!