City Continues Work on the EAB Management Plan

Mississauga.ca
Oct. 28, 2015

City staff has been working hard to ease the impact of EAB on Mississauga’s urban forest. Guiding their efforts is the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) Active Management Plan that was endorsed by Council in 2012.

“Under our EAB plan, the City’s Forestry team is continuing with ongoing inspections of City-owned Ash trees along streets, in parks and woodlots and we’re treating healthy Ash trees and removing or replacing dead or dying City-owned Ash trees,” said Laura Piette, Director of Parks and Forestry. “Our goal is to preserve as many City-owned Ash trees as possible and work to replenish our urban forest. All street and park trees removed due to EAB will be replanted on a one-to-one basis.”

Forestry crews have inspected all of the City-owned Ash trees along streets and in parks and continue to inspect woodlots. Inspections are critical. They determine which Ash trees are healthy enough to continue treatment and which Ash trees need to be removed because they are either dead or dying.

There are three key components to the EAB Active Management Plan: treatment, removal and replanting.

Treatment

To date, more than 5,200 sustainable City-owned Ash trees have been treated with TreeAzinTM, an insecticide that is applied every two years. Currently, all treated trees are being assessed to confirm if they are still viable for treatment in 2016.

Removal

Over 6,800 City-owned dead or dying Ash trees have been removed by Forestry-contracted crews along streets and in parks. Removal is focused on high risk areas that are next to roadways, trails, paths, schools, residential homes and buildings or other facilities.

Replanting

A total of 2,366 street and park trees have been replanted in Mississauga. Residential streets are being replanted first followed by arterial roads, industrial and commercial streets.

“Public safety is the first priority for staff in determining when to remove trees,” explained Piette.

“All street trees removed due to EAB will be replanted within the community. In some cases, it might not be possible to replant in the exact same location due to changes in overhead or underground utility locations. In these cases, trees will be replanted in the surrounding community and we will let residents know.”

Piette further explained that park trees will be replanted over several years. “This is due to the high number of trees that we’ve had to remove from our parks, the short planting season and the weather conditions.”

“Forestry staff is also currently working on their plans for replanting woodlots as each site is unique and will require an individualized plan,” said Piette. “For some, it may mean letting them regenerate naturally while others will have trees replanted.”

The City’s EAB Active Management Plan does not include resources to treat or remove private Ash trees. Residents are responsible for trees on their property. If a healthy Ash tree has been treated, it is recommended to continue to do so. If an Ash tree has not been treated it is recommended that a Certified Arborist be called for advice.

In 2012, the City launched the One Million Trees Mississauga program to help conserve and enhance the City’s tree canopy. The program is designed to encourage participation by residents, businesses and community groups to grow Mississauga’s urban forest. To learn more, visit onemilliontrees.ca.

For regular updates on EAB and the EAB Active Management Plan, visit the City’s website at mississauga.ca/EAB.

Background

The Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) was first detected in Mississauga in 2008. By 2012, EAB was confirmed in all wards of the City. Of the over 2 million public and private trees in Mississauga, it is estimated that 10 per cent are Ash trees.

The EAB Active Management Plan will cost an estimated $51 million over 10 years. Currently, neither the federal or provincial government is providing funding support for EAB. To support the City’s EAB plan, a Special Purpose Levy was introduced in 2014.