Emerald Ash Borer comes with a cost in Oakville
Town says residents with ash trees need to cut them down soon

insidehalton.com
Sept. 18, 2015
By David Lea

Residents in the area of Solingate Drive and Hixon Street received a glimpse into Oakville’s future this week as more than 40 ash trees infested with emerald ash borer (EAB) were cut down on a private property at 2123 Hixon St., which is currently occupied by an Educational Resource Centre.

The area took on the look of a logging camp with tree trunks and other tree debris littering the property.

While the images may be upsetting to some, the Town of Oakville is advising residents to get used to them as time has run out for the more than 40,000 to 43,000 ash trees currently located on private properties throughout Oakville.

John McNeil, manager of forestry services for the Town, stated Friday the infestation of the invasive EAB has gotten so bad that any ash tree that has not been treated against EAB is now beyond saving.

That means any resident with an ash tree on their property will need to have it cut down - and sooner is preferable to later.

“The population of the insect has continued to rise and it is now at a level where it is too late to begin effective treatment programs,” said McNeil.

“Ash trees that are not in a treatment program are getting so infested now they are essentially ‘dead trees standing.’ It behooves the owner of the tree, who is ultimately responsible for the management of that tree, to realize that tree is a dead tree standing and not wait until it is at a state where it is decaying.”

McNeil said even if an ash tree looks healthy now, it will not stay that way as ash trees have no natural immunity to EAB and the pest will not spare them.

If residents wait until their ash trees die and become brittle, he said, the cost of removing those trees, particularly rear yard trees that cannot be reached by an aerial bucket truck, will skyrocket.

If residents wait, they also run the risk of being held liable for any injury or property damage caused if that dead tree or one of its branches falls.

Last year, Town staff warned that the summer of 2014 would probably be the last summer where private ash trees could be effectively treated against EAB.

For the last few years McNeil said, the Town has been engaged in a campaign to encourage residents to treat their ash trees.

That campaign included advertisements on bus shelters, buses and media releases issued to local media including the Oakville Beaver.

The Town has treated a total of 5,700 municipal ash trees through its Ash Canopy Conservation program.

Town officials note this number makes up 75 per cent of the treatable municipal ash tree canopy on streets and in parks.

Residents are not the only ones being asked to take action.

In June, the Town announced it would be cutting down thousands of EAB-infested ash trees located in woodlots across Oakville.

That work began in August with McNeil noting a restoration program would follow.

Residents are also being encouraged to replace the trees they will be removing from their property, said McNeil, stating the loss of 40,000 to 43,000 trees with no replanting would be a massive blow to Oakville’s canopy.

“In most cases, it would be appropriate to replace it with another large stature tree, the maples or the oaks,” said McNeil.

“That way we get back the same ecological benefits that previous ash used to provide.”

While the cost of removing ash trees may be considerable, particularly if a homeowner has several on their property, McNeil says there are no grants or financial assistance residents can tap into to ease this burden.

The metallic, green-coloured invasive beetle has killed tens of millions of ash trees in North America since its discovery here in 2002.

The pest tunnels into the bark and destroys the tree’s vascular system, killing the tree within a few years.