A group of 20 officials from cities and government agencies around the area met at the Sherburne County Government Center last Friday morning to hear the latest on the challenges and potential solutions to serious insect infestation problems confronting area urban forests.

 

Following a welcome from SWCD District Manager Francine Larson, Resource Conservationist Gina Hugo addressed issues of community preparedness in Sherburne County, in particular the effect of the on-going infestation of southern and western Minnesota by the emerald ash borer (EAB) and the potential devastating effect on trees in this area.

 

Hugo said the tree-destroying insects have followed main travel corridors on interstate highways into the state, often through the transport of un-inspected firewood to vacation destinations by individuals unaware of the dangers involved. Hundreds of thousands of vehicles use these routes every year, Hugo said, and the infestation will have a devastating effect on the estimated 900 million ash trees now alive in Minnesota.

 

Many eastern cities have already experienced mass die-offs of ash trees, Hugo said, and officials in places like Toledo, OH have stated that they “would have done more” in terms of treatment and prevention, if they had known what the outcome of the infestation would be.

 

While forestry preparedness has been a function of city administrations in the past, the responsibility in Sherburne County was passed to the SWCD in 2009, Hugo said.  One of the agencies pro-active functions has been to create a group of 50 volunteers who have conducted a tree survey in urban areas to give cities in the county a leg up on potential solutions to the problem.

 

Lack of money and time has been an on-going problem for cities, Hugo said, but efforts in the areas of prevention and treatment will be far less costly that removal and replacement of dead trees. The trees provide benefits to cities in terms of stormwater management, shade and aesthetics in urban neighborhoods, all of which would be lost if action is not taken in time. Cities have the ability to “build more resilient forests” with proper planning and action, Hugo said, and expert technical support is available from the U. of Minnesota, St. Cloud State University and the Minnesota DNR.

 

Speaker Jeff Hafner, director of municipal consulting at Rainbow Treecare, discussed the fiscal aspects of the Minnesota Community Forestry Partnership Act (Senate File 1987/House File 2219).

 

 In terms of the EAB infestation, Hafner said the state is “running out of time,” but Minnesota still has “a chance to do things differently” to avoid the losses and costs experienced in other states.  He also called the EAB infestation a “predictable natural disaster” which could result in the deaths of millions of trees if left unchecked.

 

Hafner also said groups such as SLAM (Slow Ash Mortality) and other state-wide ash tree preservation programs are the best answer.  Trees are a part of the urban infrastructure, he said, and provide great benefits in terms of clearer air along with the other benefits discussed earlier.  Mortality of ash trees in untreated areas has been 100% as shown in recent studies, Hafner said, and he also said that the cost of prevention and treatment is significantly lower that removal and replacement.

 

The program included a panel discussion with experts that included Ken Holman from the Mn DNR, Dr. Gary Johnson, extension professor of Forest Resources, Karen Zumach, community forest manager of the Tree Trust and Mark Abrahamson, pest mitigation and response supervisor from the MN Dept. of Agriculture.

 

Holman stated the loss of trees would have “widespread economic effects” for nine cities in Sherburne County and 45 urban areas in southern Minnesota, including the costly problem of dead trees falling onto overhead power lines in the affected areas. Zumach stated the Community Forestry legislation anticipates $5 million for removal and re-planting of trees in Minneapolis.

 

Abrahamson said the number of EAB infected in southwestern Minnesota has risen from six to 12 in the past year.  Dr. Johnson cited the planting of Manchurian and blue ash trees is a potential solution, as both species do well in Minnesota, with the former being impervious to EAB infestation.

 

The meeting facilitator was St. Cloud Parks and Rec. Director Scott Zlotnik, and the attendees included Sherburne County Administrator Steve Taylor, county commissioners Rachel Leonard and John Riebel, Big Lake Mayor Raeanne Danielowski, Becker Parks and Rec. Director Jamie Cassidy, Rep. Sondra Erickson (R-Princeton), Jim Newberger (R-Becker), Rep. Nick Zerwas (R-Elk River) and SWCD supervisors Doug Hipsag, Shane berg and Roger Nelson.  

 

For more information, contact the Sherburne Soil and Water Conservation District at (763) 241-1170 Ext. 4, or via e-mail at www.sherburneswcd.org.