Rock County coalition to combat ash borer
Photo
The emerald ash borer is only about a half-inch long, but the Asian beetle has infested ash trees in 13 Wisconsin counties, including Walworth County and nine others in southeastern Wisconsin.
JANESVILLE — Three Rock County governments are joining forces against a tree-killing beetle, and they’re inviting other municipalities to join them.
The cities of Beloit and Janesville and the town of Turtle made the announcement in a news release Tuesday.
Janesville is the only place the emerald ash borer has been discovered, but experts say the pests threaten all ash trees in the county.
The news release speaks of “potential devastation” from “the green menace.”
The municipalities could share equipment, knowledge, ash wood waste utilization, chemical treatment plans and joint purchase of supplies, according to the news release
Joint training also is a possibility.
“But day to day, we’ll probably be working on our own,” said Mike Birkholz, Turtle highway superintendent.
Birkholz said Turtle has no budget for ash borer suppression except for a Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources grant that will help spread awareness of the threat.
The news release quotes Mike Ferger, Beloit forestry operations supervisor, as saying it’s important for everyone in the county, including landscaping companies, to work together.
“Each agency should provide the same information to local residents, so everyone is hearing the same message,” Ferger said.
Other public works departments are invited to join, the news release states.
The partners plan an information booth on May 18 at the city of Beloit Farmers Market.
Mar 21, 2013 at 11:23 p.m.
Suggest removal
Janesvillean, I am not familiar with the ones you are talking about in Courthouse Park, as I do not get that way very often, but I agree wholeheartedly. If they were not yet diseased and in the process of dying, they would have been prime candidates for chemical treatment due to the high visibility and high use of the location. At least for some years that it would take replacements to acheive some size, 15-20 feet or so.
It takes some thought and sensitivity when removing trees that are high profile such as these are (were). Any fool can grab a chainsaw and proceed to cause destruction and mayhem across the land, it has been done for many generations in Wisconsin, crosscut saws preceding chainsaws, of course. This is not a time for panic, there is time to do all of this in a thoughtful manner.
Mar 20, 2013 at 8:44 p.m.
Suggest removal
Start now. Cut em all down. Replace with other species. When that species is in the same boat...cut em all down and replace with ash.
The natural evolution of man assisted problems.
Mar 20, 2013 at 7:49 p.m.
Suggest removal
I do hope that this will involve discussion of prioritization and preservation. It was in my opinion rash to quickly cut the very prominent ash grove in Courthouse Park; if anything these should have been primary candidates for chemical treatment, with cutting reserved for trees e.g. along the wooded edges of parks where visibility and shade are lesser issues.
.
In the long run all the trees -- and I do mean all, that has pretty much been the experience -- are probably doomed unless treated, but in places where a tree has a real job to do in terms of beauty or shade, waiting while replacements are planted and grown would seem worthwhile if treatment is to be done at all.
Before you post a comment, consider this:
Note: GazetteXtra.com does not condone or review every comment. Read more in our User Policy AgreementPost Comment
Commenting requires registration.