Ash trees: Peterborough considers 10-year protection plan
Chemical treatment would spare ash trees in coming emerald ash borer bug invasion
By Brendan Wedley, Peterborough Examiner April 2, 2013
Peterborough’s preparing for the invasion of the emerald ash borer bug, which has killed ash trees across southwestern Ontario and has spread up to the Oshawa area.
City council, sitting as committee of the whole Tuesday night, endorsed a 10-year, $4.9-million plan that would include chemically treating some ash trees next to city streets to save them from the infestation and to remove and replace some of the trees that will be killed by the bugs.
For this year, the program would cost $173,000, which would be for additional staff time, public education and getting an inventory of ash trees on city-owned property.
Staff would return to council with an update for the 2014 budget process.
The urban tree canopy is absolutely priceless to this community, Coun. Henry Clarke said.
“Spend the money and save as many of those trees that we can,” Clarke said.
Paul Hambidge, an urban forest specialist with the municipality, explained the emerald ash borer problem to council. He showed them before-and-after pictures of ash tree lined streets in other communities hit by the pest, showing how the bug killed all the ash trees along the neighbourhood streets.
The invasive species from Asia was discovered in the Windsor area in 2002, Hambidge said.
“It has no natural predators in Ontario,” he said. “Millions of ash trees will be killed in North America…. It is the single most devastating forest pest that has ever entered North America.”
Adult females of the insect lay eggs in the bark of ash trees; the eggs hatch and the larvae bore through the bark and feed on the tissue beneath the bark, Hambidge said.
The borer leaves a “D” shaped emergence hole in the trunk of the tree, Hambidge said.
“It will kill all of the ash trees unless we treat them,” he said.
Staff considered options including letting the bugs kill all the trees and the cost of removing dead trees and replanting; treating all ash trees on city-owned property; and a hybrid plan that would include selecting some ash trees along city streets for a chemical treatment, letting some trees die, and removing and replacing some of the dead trees.
“We are retaining the benefit of the best quality trees and replanting,” Hambidge said.
The chemical treatment, which has to be reapplied every two years, is 98% effective, he saidThe city estimates that 10 to 15% of trees on city-owned property, or about 7,100 trees, are ash trees.
Staff project the bug will spread to Peterborough this summer or early next year.
Coun. Jack Doris urged staff to move fast to prepare for the pest.
“It’s likely already in Peterborough County and on its way to Peterborough,” he said. “It’s better to be pre-emptive and strike first and to save as much as you can.”
Councillors Dan McWilliams argued the city should search for partnerships; he suggested getting community groups, such as the Friends of Jackson Park, involved and starting an adopt-a-tree program to lessen the financial burden on property taxpayers.
“We’re late getting at this. We should have been at this two years ago…. It’s sitting at our doorstep now,” he said. “Make sure this thing doesn’t overrun the community.”
McWilliams opposed the recommendations, saying he wanted to send the report back to staff to come up with other options.
Council had a relatively light agenda for Tuesday’s meeting and it spent more than an hour on the emerald ash borer response plan.
Several councillors complained that the federal government and the province aren’t providing any financial support or a comprehensive plan for dealing with the problem.
Mayor Daryl Bennett encouraged council to move forward with the city’s response plan.
“You keep talking about this and it will be too late to do anything with the trees,” the mayor said.The item returns to the regular council meeting April 8.
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