Dealing With Emerald Ash Borer in Maple Grove
Maple Grove’s 20-year plan to treat or remove trees affected by Emerald Ash Borer
“When these trees were planted it was the go-to tree,” says Maple Grove Right of Way Technician Kelly Matzke, adding, “It checked all the boxes, it was good in this weather, it does well in Minnesota climates, it’s salt tolerant, it does well in clay soil, it does well in sandy soil.” And that’s why Ash trees are so prevalent in Maple Grove. Unfortunately those trees are now infested with the Emerald Ash Borer. To deal with this invasive beetle the Maple Grove City Council approved a 20-year plan to treat or remove boulevard trees that are affected by it. Matzke says, “We started in 2021 treating the northern section of Maple Grove, and removing some trees that didn’t meet that threshold, and then in 2022 we’re gonna be focusing on the southwest portion of Maple Grove. Preference is to treat as many trees as possible in the public right of way.”
Those treatments will happen once every two years in June, July, August, and into September. Unfortunately not all trees can be treated, some do need to come down, but in 2021 they were able to treat far more trees than they had to cut down, as Matzke adds, “Almost 2000 trees in the public right-of-way that were treated. We anticipate 2022 the southern portion of the city to do the same. Removals about 125 to 150. What’s that? Under 10% of the trees had to unfortunately be removed, a small percentage compared to the trees that we did treat for 2021. 2022 we anticipate similar numbers.” The city’s 20 year plan deals specifically with Ash trees that are in the public right-of-way, which can be the first 10 to 15 feet of a property, depending on where you live. Trees that are on the border of that right-of-way will be taken care of by the city, as Matzke adds, “Any of those trees are considered public. We take the responsibility, we’ll pay for the removal if it’s deemed a tree that needs to be removed. We will also handle the treatment of those trees from here on out.” Ash trees that are entirely on private property, though, are the responsibility of the property owner. For more information go to http://www.maplegrovemn.gov and search Emerald Ash Borer.
