Emerald Ash Borers Strike Again, Minnesota’s Hennepin County Ash Trees Take the Hit

Foresters predict that the emerald ash borers' infestations in the Hennepin County suburbs of Minnesota will decimate 1 million ash trees from the county within a decade.

In the last eight years, just Brooklyn Park has planted 2,000 trees of various species, barely catching up with the 1,600 ash trees removed. Even though the city only recently found its first disease-ridden ash trees in a wooded area, Plymouth had already lost several thousand ash trees this year.

Shane DeGroy, a county forester overseeing the tree grant program, said that even though the ash borer crisis has been going on for about ten years, it is unquestionably getting worse because of how slowly it is progressing.

In answer, Hennepin County recently awarded close to $400,000 to 20 cities, groups, and affordable housing facilities to replace and remove more than 435 ash trees. According to foresters, ash borers typically take two years to kill a tree.

In the vicinity of Fort Snelling, foresters discovered the first ash borer in Hennepin County. According to DeGroy, the beetle has gradually moved westward and has infested other trees at a rate of a few miles per year.

Ash Trees in Minnesota

DeGroy asserts that Minnesota has the greatest concentration of ash trees in the nation. Most residents of Hennepin County, where there are 1 million of them in the estimate, reside within 15 miles of a diseased tree.

In the 1970s, ash trees were extensively grown along boulevards due to their beauty. Additionally, they are essential for capturing carbon, lowering air pollution, absorbing stormwater, and offering shade to offset the urban heat island effect.

In Michigan in 2002, the first emerald ash borer was discovered. It traveled to Minnesota on vehicles. The US Department of Agriculture calculates that the beetle has since killed ash trees reaching hundreds of millions across the country.

Mitigation and Remedial Actions

Each year, Minneapolis replaces about 5,000 trees, removing all ash trees from public property. To complete the removal of ash trees and plant new tree species in their place, the St. Paul City Council borrowed $18 million last year.

The first ash infection in Brooklyn Park didn't occur there until 2017. 200 ash trees, which make up 20% of the city's trees, were cut down this year, according to Greg Hoag, manager of park and building maintenance. To remove and replant ash trees, Brooklyn Park has received close to $400,000 from the state and the county.

When the city of Plymouth found its first ash borer in 2015, officials had just created a program to address the issue.

Every community is experiencing an increase, according to Plymouth City Forester Paul Buck, and residents must have a plan for their trees.

It took the ash borer seven years to disperse into neighborhoods, although city officials found it in a small wooded area at first. He advised keeping an eye out for woodpeckers that are removing the bark from infected ash trees.

According to Buck, the cost of removing a 20-inch tree is $1,000, so the sum can quickly rise, Star Tribune reports.