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Tree Talk

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Emerald Ash Borer Update

The Upper Arlington Tree Commission continues to plan for eventual emerald ash borer infestation. Marianne Prue has recently joined the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Forestry as an expert to provide EAB assistance to Ohio communities. It now seems that federally funded removal of infested trees is not a long term option and Upper Arlington needs to have a plan in place.

Forester Prue's advice is quite stark. She recommends taking an inventory of all ash trees on public property and then she recommends that they should be removed gradually to reduce the risk and minimize the impact of an infestation . This is the first time Steve Cothrel, Upper Arlington Superintendent of Parks and Forestry, has ever heard a recommendation to remove healthy trees in advance of an infestation or blight problem. The reason why is that no ash trees seem to survive this bug, unlike some elm trees which were able to survive Dutch Elm disease. If all of the ash trees in U A were to die in a short one to two year period it could be extremely expensive to remove all of them at once and there would be a dearth of qualified experienced tree surgeons to do the work.

The U A Tree Commission has thus decided that it would be prudent to begin the removal of public property ash trees and replace them with other species trees at the rate of ten percent a year. We plan to start with older trees in poor condition first with the goal being to remove first the ashes which would cause the most trouble, damage and expense were they to suddenly die. It is much more expensive to remove a dead tree than a live one. We will also attempt to remove and replace ashes which threaten power lines, buildings or public roads. We hope to avoid wholesale clearance of all ashes at once in any given neighborhood as it will minimize the impact if this can be done gradually over the ten years. The EAB may not give us that much time.

Residents will be notified in advance of any ash tree removals and can appeal specific ash tree removals to the Commission. We plan to spare any particular ash that a resident is fond of with our overall goal still being to lessen the total number of public ash trees that we would have to deal with suddenly when the infestation strikes here. The Commissioners are heartsick over this but we feel this is the only responsible course to take. We welcome any public comments or questions.

Parks & Forestry Division
Parks & Recreation Department
City of Upper Arlington
3600 Tremont Road
Upper Arlington, OH 43221
Phone: 614-583-5340