The “yellow jackets” seen in and around Clear Lake this week are not the buzzing and biting kind, but are rather environmentally-conscious volunteers who are taking part in an area tree survey with the City of Clear Lake, according to Gina Hugo, resource conservationist with the Sherburne Soil and Water Conservation District.
Trees in urban areas in Sherburne County have been scrutinized by survey teams since the program began last summer, with the goal of helping city governments prepare a plan for potential infestations by destructive insects such as the emerald ash borer (EAB) and the Asian long-horned beetle, which can wreak havoc with metropolitan ash and maple trees.
Surveys have taken place in Zimmerman, Elk River, Big Lake and Becker, and a 10-member team is currently working with Clear Lake officials, concentrating on ash trees standing on maintained areas and taking measurements of canopy size, height and condition on other trees where landowners have provided permission for them to work, Hugo said.
The three-member teams are currently looking into 22 sample areas in Clear Lake, determining which species of trees are most prevalent and what other types could be planted to provide a more diverse environment for urban forests. Variety will also help to lessen the impact of insect infestations, such as the EAB, which has devastated ash populations in Detroit, MI and several cities in Illinois and Indiana. The species in already prevalent in Wisconsin, and has been reported in sections of Minnesota near the Twin Cities, north along 35W and as close as Shoreview in Ramsey County.
