FARGO — A small metallic green pest known for killing hundreds of millions of ash trees in North America has
made its way to North Dakota.
But
Fargo and Moorhead
have been preparing for the destructive bug’s arrival for years, foresters say. The invasive species was spotted in Moorhead and Dilworth, Minn., last year, and it’s only a matter of time before they land in Fargo, said Allan Lee, urban forestry programs manager for Fargo.
“We can’t prevent anything,” he said. “I can’t prevent them from flying across the border.”
Emerald ash borer adult beetles are metallic green and about one-half inch in size.
David Samson / The Forum
The insect that threatens ash trees is called the
emerald ash borer
. Originally from Asia, the beetle that is about a half inch long lays eggs on bark, North Dakota Forester Tom Claeys said. Larvae from the eggs burrow tunnels into the bark, disrupting the flow of nutrients to the tree over the course of two to three years, he said.
“The population builds up to a point where they girdle the tree,” he said.
Girdling is a method of killing a tree by removing the bark in a ring instead of cutting the tree down.
The pest was first found in the U.S. in 2002. It has spread across the country, as well as several provinces in Canada.
Minnesota reported its first emerald ash borer in 2009.
Last month, North Dakota became the 37th state to spot the beetle when it was discovered
in a trap near the Edgeley rest area,
or about 120 miles southwest of Fargo. LaMoure County is under quarantine, meaning those who move regulated materials, such as firewood, into the county could
face up to $5,000 in penalties.
The first emerald ash borer for the Fargo-Moorhead area was found Feb. 17, 2023, in a tree near
the Meadows Golf Course in Moorhead.
Two months later, a second sighting was confirmed along the railroad tracks in Dilworth.
This photo shows the damage that emerald ash borer can cause to an ash tree.
Contributed / North Dakota Forest Service
Authorities believe the insect
came to Clay County
by train, Moorhead Forester Trent Wise said.
There have been other sightings in Moorhead and Dilworth, including near Minnesota State University Moorhead. Emerald ash borer has not been spotted in Fargo or West Fargo.
Ash trees are not resistant to emerald ash borers, and the bugs don’t have any known predators in North Dakota, Claeys said.
“That’s a big problem,” he said. “There is very, very little natural resistance to emerald ash borer because it came from somewhere else.”
North Dakota has about 90 million ash trees, Claeys said. Ash trees make up as much as 80% of some communities in the state, particularly small ones, he said.
“That’s devastating,” he said. “That absolutely an incredible number that we all need to make a concerted effort to move away from.”
Ash trees became popular as cities and residents battled Dutch elm disease, Claeys said. Cities hoped to replace elms with ashes, which are native to North Dakota and are extremely adaptable, he said.
“Ash was the logical one,” Claeys said. “We planted a lot of ash out of concern for the future of elm, and unfortunately, we didn’t diversify quite as much as we should have or could have.”
North Dakota has set up several traps across the state in order to detect emerald ash borers.
Contributed / North Dakota Forest Service
One misconception people have is that damage from borers can be managed and halted, like Dutch elm disease, Lee said. Foresters can spot Dutch elm disease within days, meaning they can take steps to stop its spread, save more trees and limit loss, Lee said.
It may take years to realize an emerald ash borer has burrowed in a tree before signs emerge, he said.
“It’s so different,” he said. “We just can’t see it.”
Dating back to the mid-2000s, the North Dakota Forest Service, State Agriculture Department and others have formulated plans to prevent and spot emerald ash borer infestations, Claeys said. The state has set up traps around areas where emerald ash borers could be transported, such as communities, rest areas and campgrounds, he said.
“Emerald ash borer does not travel strongly by itself,” he said. “The way it moves most quickly from state to state or county to county is through the transport of wood products. Oftentimes, it’s things like firewood.”
The Forest Service also has encouraged communities to remove ash trees and diversify its tree population. Its community forestry grants offer several opportunities for cities to replace ash trees, with deadlines to apply listed as Oct. 31.
“We’re learning that lesson again,” he said. “Diversity is really, really important in all of our tree plantings.”
For more information on the grants, go to
shorturl.at/IwXRQ
.
The North Dakota Forest Service has warned residents about what they can do to prevent the spread of emerald ash borers.
Contributed / North Dakota Forest Service
In a proactive approach, both Fargo and Moorhead have made plans to reduce its ash tree population, Lee and Wise said.
As of August, Fargo had 13,050 ash trees, which made up 21% of Fargo’s tree population, Lee said. That percentage is half of 2010, when ash trees made up 43% of the tree species composition, according to city data.
At the same time, the city has planted other tree species.
“All these under-planted species, you can see their general trend line of percentages trending up,” he said.
Moorhead’s ash population has dropped from 7,800 in 2019, when Wise was hired as the city forester, to 6,000 this year, Wise said. Ash trees make up about 22% of Moorhead’s tree population, he said.
“We’ve been pretty aggressive with our removal, even before we found it,” Wise said. “We probably average 225 removals a year.”
Started in 2023, Moorhead implemented a five-year plan that would help it close in on treating and removing ash trees. The city would remove ash trees that are 10 inches in diameter or less, Wise said.
A Moorhead forestry crew removes an ash tree that was cut down in the city’s fight against the emerald ash borer on Wednesday, March 15, 2023, in the 1100 block of 30th Street South.
Alyssa Goelzer / The Forum
“That’s about 1,500 trees,” he said.
An online dashboard at
shorturl.at/vCRLt
shows when ash trees on boulevards and in city parks will tentatively be treated or removed.
Almost 1,600 trees were scheduled for treatment this year, with 1,755 on the schedule for next year. The city planned to remove 316 ash trees around the city this year, and another 271 trees could be cut down in 2025.
The city plans to treat more than 5,000 ash trees through 2026 and remove 1,179 by the end of 2027.
Some have suggested the city treat all of its ashes, but Lee said that gets expensive. Fargo can contract treatment as low as $6 to $7 per inch, and the treatment must cover the diameter of a tree to be effective, he said.
With 13,000 trees, the city has about 200,000 inches of ash, he said. That would equal about $1.2 million every two years, Lee said.
“We just can’t afford it,” he said.
Residents should identify what trees they have in their yard, Wise said. Then they need to come up with a plan.
“Do you want to keep that tree or do you not want to invest in the treatment costs and are you OK with losing it?” he asked. “If you are OK losing it, you should just get it cut down right away so it is not a potential host for the beetle and the larvae. If you want to keep that tree, you should start treating it now.”
Residents need to ask if they feel a tree is nice enough to save and spend money to treat it every two to three years, Lee said. That could cost thousands of dollars, depending how long a resident lives at the address, he said.
“Is it a nice enough tree that you can justify that?” he asked.
Claeys didn’t recommend treatment for ash trees unless they are within 15 miles of borer infestation areas. He suggested that residents should consult reputable tree professionals, particularly ones who are certified by the International Society of Arboriculture.
“Compare prices,” he said. “Look for multiple quotes, because there will be a huge difference between the prices of your treatment options.”
The North Dakota Department of Agriculture has guides on how to identify ash trees, how to spot emerald ash borer, prevention efforts and how to report the pest at
ndda.nd.gov/eab
. It advises residents not to bring firewood into North Dakota from out of state.
The city of Moorhead also has information on its borer management plan, options for homeowners and how to report the bugs if found. For more information, go to
shorturl.at/Lgwme
.
Fargo residents who wish to have their tree removed and replaced can call the
Fargo Forestry Department
at (701) 241-5417.
To report emerald ash borer in North Dakota, call the Agriculture Department at (701) 328-5110 or email
ReportAPest@nd.gov.
Residents in Moorhead should call the city’s Forestry Department at (2180 299-5422 or the
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
at (888) 545-6684. They also can report it online at
mda.state.mn.us/reportapest
or by emailing
reportapest@state.mn.us.
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Publish date : 2024-09-23 04:28:00
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