SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — Seven years after the emerald ash borer first arrived in the state, the fight remains strong in a game of treating and removing affected ash trees.
“We have noticed more activity surrounding emerald ash borer, but we’ve noticed it on private property,” Bryan Peterson, urban forestry specialist with the city of Sioux Falls said.
Part of the challenge in fighting emerald ash borer, according to Peterson, is the lack of data available to measure the infestation on private property, which are the responsibility of the land owner. There’s also no program that assist landowners in the infestation.
“Our response and abillity to help out is very limited,” Peterson said.
The city estimates around 40,000 ash trees on private property. Peterson said at this point in the infestation, his team is expecting a heavy increase in mortality, which are dead trees, on private property.
However, that increase is still on the lower end.
“I would attribute that to homeowners taking charge of ash trees on their property. I’m pretty encouraged at this point that people are stepping up,” Peterson said.
Through surveys conducted from the public right of way, the forestry team diagnoses trees they can see are infested with emerald ash borer. That survey last year condemned 400 trees.
This year, the number has doubled to a little over 800. Next year, Peterson anticipates another doubling of that number.
On city property, most of the land has been cleaned up, according to Peterson.
Peterson said the majority of trees on city and public property that were not treated were preemptively removed.
“Most of our programmed areas and mowed and managed areas are ash free,” Peterson said.
Now, the city’s work has turned to what Peterson calls more natural, forested areas, which are places that aren’t actively managed like a park. The riparian areas around the Big Sioux River are where some ash trees still remain.
“We are actively working on assessing those sites mostly to reduce risk and public hazards,” he said.
The Kingswood Neighborhood Association received a grant that allowed homeowners to pay $40 for a new tree to replace those that were removed from emerald ash borer.
Ellen Doerr, the president of the association, said the association used up all of their funds and plan to ask for more this coming year. The grant allowed the neighborhood to plant 17 new trees.
“There’s no neighborhood that’s untouched,” Arborist Ryan Myott of Weller Brothers LLC told KELOLAND News.
Myott said new homeowners are sometimes not aware of the infestation and possible affect on their new home’s ash trees. According to Myott, some buy homes with trees that are already too far gone to be saved.
“What’s happening is they’re moving into these homes and their realtors or whoever is involved, they’re not looking at these trees,” he said.
A meek winter and drought last summer expedited the infestation to be worse this year, according to Myott.
“It’s far worse than last year,” he said.
According to Myott they don’t recommend doing treatments after Labor Day, as they are not as effective.
“If your tree is really bad, I would suggest just removing it, it’s cheaper to do it now then when the tree becomes more hazardous,” he said.
On the other hand, if the tree is salvageable, Myott suggests scheduling a treatment plan for the Spring and have an arborist assess it later in the Summer.
As for the totality of the infestation, Peterson said the light at the end of the tunnel is still far away.
“We’ve got a good 3 to 5 hard years in front of us, and we all need to do our part,” he said.
