Chopping down trees only solution to Emerald ash borer
More invasive species threats to our trees on the way

NiagaraThisWeek.com
Oct. 21, 2014
Paul Forsyth

Residents had best get used to the sounds of chainsaws for the foreseeable future, with city politicians hearing there is no alternative to cutting down trees to deal with the devastation of the Emerald ash borer.

The iridescent little beetle that found its way to Niagara from China is having a feast on ash trees across the city and the region, leaving thousands of dead and dying trees in its wake.

By some accounts, upwards of a third of Niagara’s vast tree canopy could eventually be wiped out by the bug.

City politicians agreed in August to a cost overrun of up to $108,000 to cut down about 240 damaged ash trees posing the most immediate threat of branches ready to fall. They also agreed in September to fund up to $48,000 to plant new trees next to where ash trees have to come down.

At that meeting, they asked city chief administrative officer Frank Fabiano to work with his counterparts from Niagara’s other towns and cities to see if there’s any way to slow down the relentless march of the beetle, which chokes off the trees’ nutrients with its burrowing larvae.

Fabiano told city council on Oct. 7 that the Niagara CAOs met at their regularly scheduled quarterly meeting in September, and the ash borer problem was a big topic.

The City of St. Catharines forestry department has conducted extensive research into the ash borer and concluded there is no alternative to chopping down trees, he said.

St. Catharines, Niagara Falls and Welland have spent two years trying to slow down the spread without success, Fabiano said.

St. Catharines plans to cut down more than 1,000 high-risk trees in the next year, and expects to spend millions of dollars in the years to come on cutting and replanting with other tree species.

Fabiano said all the local CAOs said they intend to increase their annual forestry budgets over the next few years to remove and replace dead and dying trees.

Coun. Sergio Paone said given Fabiano’s conversation with the other CAOs, “we now know it seems that we have no choice” but to cut down damaged trees.

Fabiano cautioned that the selective ash borer isn’t the only threat. The Asian long-horned beetle, which is far less finicky and will gladly attack various species of trees, has now found its way to Ontario

“This is not the end,” said Fabiano. “There are other species that will be coming forward and attacking our trees. This is not something that’s good for our communities.”