Tree committee completes EAB treatment plan

Plans for protecting Wisconsin Dells ash trees as well as plans for celebratingthe citys trees were discussed Monday afternoon at the Dells Tree City Advisory Committee meeting at the municipal building.

The committee finalized plans for protecting the citys ash tree population from the imminent arrival of the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) and also began preliminary planning for the citys Arbor Day festivities in April.

A December mailing from the committee alerted 65 property owners with ash trees in the right-of-way along their properties of the EAB plan and recommended a treatment option for each ash tree. The letters recommended either applying a preventive treatment or removing the tree completely, depending on the condition of each tree involved and requested feedback in case the property owner preferred an approach other than the one recommended.

All of the citys ash trees will be treated or removed, said committee secretary Debbie Kinder when reached by telephone, because local infestation by the Emerald Ash Borer is imminent if it has not begun already. Kinder said the exotic beetle which has infested ash threes between here and Detroit and has gotten as far south as Georgia since it showed up in North America by way of the Great Lakes shipping channels already has been spotted at Mirror Lake State Park.

When [the borer] does hit, it kills all of the ash trees and they all die at once, Kinder said. That brings the danger of having all these dead trees at one time, and trees are a lot more difficult to remove when they are dead.

Where ash trees are removed, the citys goal is to replant a different species of tree, Kinder said, with the hope of adding to the citys tree species diversity. The decision to re-plant, she said, depends in part on each property owners preferences, because the city and the property owners share equally in the expense of tree care including trimming, removal or re-planting in the right of way.

The ideal goal is to maintain our canopy if we take one down, we want to replant one, she said. Not every property owner wants a new tree planted.

Cutting efforts on the trees identified for removal will begin as soon as weather permits, and the city will advise affected property owners ahead of time. The treatment application to the remaining trees will take place in the spring.

Even though the deadline for feedback was Jan. 15, Kinder said affected property owners who received the letters still have time to weigh in.

The committee also discussed preliminary ideas for the citys celebration of Arbor Day on April 24. The citys observance will include a tribute tree planting ceremony at Bowman Park and other local activities on that day, as well as Arbor Day-oriented activities at the monthly Dells-Delton Community Supper the following Tuesday, April 28.

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Tree committee completes EAB treatment plan