Norfolk's inventory of dead trees will be huge

simcoereformer.ca
Dec. 2, 2015
By Monte Sonnenberg

Some priorities in Norfolk may have to wait while the county confronts its large and growing inventory of dead ash trees.

No one knows the size of the problem. All that can be said with any certainty is that it is huge.

“It looks like we’re going to have to stop making improvements to this county while we remove ash trees,” Waterford Coun. Harold Sonnenberg said Tuesday at Norfolk council. “This is astounding.”

Sonnenberg was responding to a report which says 1,300 ash trees on county land have been identified for removal so far. The estimated cost of next year’s cutting program is $638,000.

No one knows how big the final tab will be. Staff has yet to survey the 46 cemeteries under county jurisdiction, Norfolk’s 47.6 kilometres of walking trails, and the situation along concession roads in the Norfolk countryside.

At the rate trees are dying, dealing with the situation could potentially cost taxpayers millions of dollars.

As a first step, council awarded a contract Tuesday for the removal of 418 dead and dying ash trees in urban centres across Norfolk. These trees are a priority because they pose a safety hazard in areas of high vehicular and pedestrian traffic. The firm Clean Up of Simcoe has been given six months to dispose of them.

Of seven firms bidding, Clean Up submitted the low tender of $162,000. During a break in Tuesday’s meeting, Clean Up owner Gord Ivanochko said the county has only scratched the surface of what will have to be done over the next five years.

“It’s going to get worse,” he said. “We’re just getting started. You’d think government would help. It’s like a natural disaster – like a hurricane blew through.”

The culprit is the emerald ash borer. In its native habitat in Asia, the ash borer is a relatively harmless insect. However, after its arrival in North America about 15 years ago, the borer has run rampant. The problem is too much food and no natural enemies.

The ash borer was first identified in North America in Michigan in 2002. Since then, it has laid waste to most every ash tree in its path during its migration toward the east coast. The pest was first detected in Norfolk in 2009 in a stand of trees north of Turkey Point.

Locally, disposing of the wood from the upcoming cull will be Clean Up’s responsibility. Lumber from dying ash trees is usable for about two years. After that, the wood turns grey, raising questions about its durability and the integrity of its grain.

County arborist Adam Chamberlin said saw mills are willing to turn dying ash trees into lumber. However, they tend to reject trees from urban areas because they usually have a history of nails and staples from bill postings and other advertisements. Foreign objects in timber pose a threat to saw blades and other mill technology.