emeraldashborer(management(plan*( ashtown,(ontario( march,(2013( - invasive insects ·...
TRANSCRIPT
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Emerald ash borer management plan*
AshTown, Ontario
March, 2013
*This emerald ash borer management plan, for the fictional town of AshTown, Ontario, is for illustrative purposes only. AshTown is located in a region of Ontario currently not known to have emerald ash borer (EAB) infestation.
Table of Contents
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 3
BACKGROUND 4 HISTORY OF EMERALD ASH BORER 4 IMPACT OF EAB IN URBAN ENVIRONMENTS 4 POTENTIAL IMPACTS OF EAB IN ASHTOWN 5 EAB BIOLOGY 5 ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES 7 MANAGEMENT OPTIONS 7
GOALS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE EAB MANAGEMENT PLAN 8
SCOPE OF THE PLAN 8
MANAGEMENT PLAN COMPONENTS: 8 INVENTORY 8 SURVEILLANCE 9 PRIORITIES AND PLAN OF ACTION 10
IMPLEMENTATION 13
COMMUNICATIONS PLAN 13
PUBLIC EDUCATION AND OUTREACH 13
BUDGET AND TIMELINE 15
REFERENCES 16
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Executive summary
AshTown Ontario has an abundance of ash trees on its streets, in its woodlots and on private property. These trees are threatened with the imminent arrival of an invasive beetle, the emerald ash borer (EAB). This insect has killed millions of trees in eastern North America since its discovery in 2002. The Town has an estimated 25% ash in its urban canopy. Like other trees, these ash trees provide a range of economic, ecological and aesthetic benefits to Town residents. The financial costs to the Town of managing EAB-‐killed ash will be considerable. This impact may be mitigated through a timely EAB management plan identifying the approach and plan of action for addressing this threat. There is no evidence that EAB is currently infesting trees in the Town, however, the beetle is expected to arrive within four years. This allows time to conduct a street tree inventory, which will permit the planning, and implementation of an EAB management program that provides the best combination of costs and benefits. This proposed plan will guide the municipal response to EAB including the treatment of a proportion of ash trees to preserve tree canopy, removal of remaining ash trees with replacement using other tree species, ash biomass disposal, and municipal communications and outreach strategie
Background
History of emerald ash borer Emerald ash borer (EAB) is a wood-‐boring beetle native to eastern China, Japan, Korea and Russia, however, it is uncommon outside of China [1-‐3]. In its native range EAB prefers declining trees and trees at forest edges, but attacks healthy trees as well, occasionally causing more severe stand damage [4]. EAB arrived accidentally in North America, probably transported in wood packing material (pallets, crates etc.) [5]. It was first identified in Michigan in 2002 [5] and Canadian authorities were then contacted and efforts were made to locate the insect in Canada; it was detected in Windsor, Ontario in the same year [6]. By the time EAB was discovered in North America there were already millions of trees affected by it [5], suggesting that the insect had been in this region for at least ten years before it was first found. Despite large-‐scale attempts by Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) to stop the spread of this insect into the rest of Ontario, the beetle quickly expanded its range, probably aided by the movement of infested wood and nursery stock [5, 7]. It is now (as of 2013) present through much of southwestern and eastern Ontario, with areas of infestation in northern Ontario and Quebec.
Impact of EAB in urban environments In North America, EAB attacks and kills most ash regardless of their species, health, size or location, and within six years of the initial detection of EAB in an area most ash will be dead. The financial impact (in 2010 currency) in urban centres will be upward of $890 million dollars in the next 30 years for the cost of treating trees with insecticide, and removing and replacing dead ones [8]. In addition to the economic impacts, trees in urban areas perform a variety of functions including reducing household energy use, water management, improving air quality, and have aesthetic benefits that are harder to quantify. The loss of ash has been also been linked to increased death rates in EAB-‐infested areas of the US [9]. Public safety is of concern since ash trees deteriorate rapidly after death, and can quickly become hazardous [10]. The impact of ash mortality in urban areas, especially where a high proportion of ash are planted, could be profound. Loss of ash in urban woodlots will have significant ecological impact where ash forms a large component of the stand. Studies show that 98% of ash trees in forest ecosystems die within six years of initial EAB attack [11]. Impacts of this include biodiversity loss, altered hydrology, habitat loss, air quality changes and increased fire risk. The effects of this could be especially significant in riparian forests where the loss of a substantial portion of the forest could result in increased stream bank erosion, altered stream water quality and loss of shoreline habitats [12]. Invasive understory plant species such as buckthorn outcompete other tree species in the understory [13]; with the loss of ash, these invasive species may become dominant. Because of this insect’s ability to attack and kill all age and size classes of ash including larger saplings (> 3cm dbh) the ash seed bank in affected forests will be lost; this phenomenon is already evident in some Michigan forests [14, 15]. Also of concern is
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public safety for users of walking and cycling trails through these woodlots when ash tree die and fall apart.
Potential impacts of EAB in AshTown EAB is not known to be present in AshTown; as of this date, the nearest known infestation is 100 km south. Using the estimated natural dispersal rate of EAB of up to 20km per year, we anticipate EAB to arrive in AshTown within five years. Movement of infested ash material may cause EAB to arrive earlier. The impact of EAB on AshTown will be considerable. Although there is no current tree inventory for the town a high proportion of street trees are ash, and there are numerous ash trees in municipal parks and woodlots, as well as on private property. In addition to the financial costs to the municipality for managing ash trees on public property, there will be considerable economic pressures on homeowners to treat ash trees with insecticide or remove EAB-‐infested trees on their property. Increased heating and cooling costs are anticipated for homeowners and businesses that lose ash shade trees. Increased storm water runoff could overload existing infrastructure and cause local flooding. Loss of recreational opportunities may occur if hiking, cycling and cross country ski trails need to be closed in municipal parks and woodlots because of ash hazard trees near the trails.
EAB Biology
EAB lifecycle Adult EAB are a metallic green beetle, about 13mm long. The male and female beetles look similar to each other. After mating, and feeding on ash leaves the female beetle lays eggs individually in bark crevices or slits, or under bark flaps [4]. The tiny, oval eggs (about 1.2 mm long) and are well hidden, so they are difficult to detect [4]. They are white when they are first laid but turn brown after a few days [4]. Larvae hatch from the eggs after approximately 2-‐2.5 weeks; the larvae are translucent white, flattened, relatively thin and have ten trapezoidal segments the last one having two dark brown spines [4]. The young larva bores through the tree bark into the phloem tissue (the inner bark layer) of the tree where it feeds throughout its larval stage [4]. The entire larval stage lasts 300 days or more [4]. At later stages, larvae bore into the sapwood or into the bark (approx. 1-‐7mm deep) to overwinter and to pupate [4, 6]. After the pupal stage (lasting 5-‐13 days [4]) is completed, the adult beetle emerges. Adults emerge in the spring, boring out of the overwintering chamber and through the tree bark. Adults live two to three weeks. The entire EAB lifespan usually lasts one year, but some EAB require two years to develop [5, 16]. Two-‐year development is common at locations with lower populations of the insect; conversely, larvae develop more quickly in stressed ash trees [16]. Other factors such as climate could also affect the beetle’s development time. The one-‐year life cycle results in faster population growth than the two-‐year.
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Damage and symptoms Signs and symptoms of EAB are usually not noticeable until the tree has been infested for a year or more. At early stages of infestation, the beetle usually attacks the upper trunk of the tree and the lower parts of the main branches, so signs of the insect may difficult to detect. In successive attacks the insect activity is found lower on the trunk, but this is often seen after the tree is already symptomatic and declining [5,6]. It is the larval stage of the beetle damages and eventually kills the tree. Larvae feed on the phloem (inner bark) tissue, which conducts nutrients throughout the tree, and when this tissue is destroyed the tree is harmed and eventually killed. Larvae feed in the in a serpentine pattern either up or down the tree typically leaving an S-‐shaped gallery in their wake [4]; this gallery is distinctive and when found under ash bark is a good indicator that the tree is infested by EAB. Woodpeckers feeding on the EAB larvae leave distinctive evidence – they peel layers of bark off of the tree when foraging for larvae (flecking) and holes are evident where the woodpecker has extracted EAB larvae or pupae. Woodpecker damage is often the first noticeable sign that EAB has infested a tree. When adult beetles emerge from the tree they tunnel their way through the bark. This leaves a distinctive D-‐shape exit hole (approx. 3.6 mm by 2.8 mm [4]), evident from the outside of the tree. The first exit holes appear a year or more after the tree has first been infested. If EAB density is low, it can be difficult to see these exit holes at the top of the tree without binoculars or a spotting scope. After emergence, adult EAB feed on ash leaves, this feeding is visible on the edges of leaves but the adult beetle does not eat much so the feeding damage isn’t extensive [4]. Trees that are successfully attacked by EAB will start to show symptoms of stress or decline. The tree crown may start to thin the year following the first EAB attack [6] starting at the top of the tree and becoming progressively worse over time. Epicormic shoots grow from the base of the tree, or sometimes from the trunk, when trees are stressed, dying or already dead. Vertically-‐oriented splits in the bark (5-‐10 cm long) occur over EAB larval galleries.
EAB host trees In North America, EAB attacks and kills most ash regardless of their species, health, size or location. North American ash species are less resistant to EAB attack than native Asian ash species [17, 18]. All native North American ash species, with the possible exception of blue ash, are vulnerable [17, 19]. European ash and Manchurian ash hybrids planted in some urban areas in North America are also expected to be susceptible. Although EAB has been reported to infest non-‐ash tree species in Japan, this is not seen in China where the beetle is more common [6], nor have non-‐ash species been found infested in North America to date. It is unlikely that the beetle will begin to attack non-‐ash species here. All saplings and trees greater than 3-‐4 cm dbh are considered vulnerable to EAB [14, 20].
Ash mortality Most, if not all, urban ash trees are vulnerable to EAB attack. These trees will die within a few years (1-‐4) of attack, unless the trees are treated with an appropriate insecticide either
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prior to initial attack, or at very early stages. The proportion of EAB infested trees within a municipality increases slowly in the first but after the first few years, infestation rates increase exponentially. Without a proactive approach, municipal resources will be overwhelmed at later stages of infestation. Currently there are no other pest management options for this pest.
Roles and responsibilities All levels of government and all landowners have roles and responsibilities in managing EAB.
Federal The CFIA, via its plant protection program, is responsible for preventing the introduction and spread of plant pests. Because EAB is now established in Canada and cannot be eradicated, the CFIA has enacted federal regulatory measures to slow the spread of EAB through the rest of Canada. A ministerial order is in place that prohibits the movement of ash materials, unless treated or processed in a manner approved by the CFIA, from regulated regions of Ontario and Quebec to uninfested regions.
Provincial The Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources is responsible for forest health. This includes forest health monitoring, conducting or facilitating research, knowledge transfer, policy development, crown-‐forest management and conducting control programs when appropriate.
Municipal Municipalities are responsible for managing their tree resources and mitigating risk to the public associated with hazard trees.
Private property owners Private property owners are responsible for maintaining trees on their private property. This can be costly, and may be a significant financial burden for some property owners. Providing property owners with information to help them determine if they have ash trees on their property, and if so, their treatment and management options will be essential.
Management options The three main strategies to manage for EAB are: a do-‐nothing approach, a treat-‐all-‐trees approach and a hybrid between the two. Regardless of the approach, there will be significant costs, which include costs for tree removal, replacement and disposal, and costs for tree treatment. A tree inventory and ongoing monitoring for tree infestation and decline is required no matter what the approach in order to plan treatment and/or removals.
1. Do nothing approach With this strategy no intervention is planned. Ash trees are treated as any other tree species and are removed as they become hazardous. All ash trees will be lost with this approach, and mortality rates will increase exponentially as the infestation progresses. The costs of this approach are low at first but when ash tree mortality starts to increase exponentially costs can become considerable.
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2. Treat all ash trees In this approach, all suitable ash trees are treated. Treatment continues on a biennial basis until the EAB population subsides and ash trees are no longer at risk. This strategy requires an ongoing commitment. Over time, this option has the highest financial cost.
3. Targeted canopy conservation A combination of treating a portion of ash trees with insecticide, and removals of the remaining trees is recommended. With this method, economic, ecological and aesthetic benefits of the tree canopy are retained, and costs can be managed over time. Smaller and less robust trees can be replaced, with the most ideal trees receiving treatment. A more diverse urban forest canopy can be created with tree replacements using a range of species, potentially reducing the impact of future invasive species. This option provides the best combination of costs and benefits.
Goals and objectives of the EAB management plan Ash trees comprise a significant component of the urban forest cover in the Town. Without intervention, EAB will kill all or most of these ash trees in the coming years, having asignificant economic, ecological and social effects on the Town and its residents. By being proactive, and planning for EAB the Town can spread the costs for managing EAB over a longer period of time, and potentially reduce overall costs, both economic and ecological. This plan aims to mitigate these impacts, with the goals to:
• Manage public risk and liability from hazard trees • Distribute urban forestry costs associated with managing
for EAB • Minimize and mitigate social and environmental impacts
of EAB infestation • Increase urban tree species diversity
Scope of the plan This plan addresses all municipally owned street, park and woodlot ash trees, within AshTown, Ontario, that are located where they have the potential to become a risk to the general public.
Management plan components:
Inventory A subsample drive-‐through (“windshield”) survey of a representative sample of 20% of the Town’s streets shows that ash species make up about 25% of the total canopy, and maple species 20%; about 5% of the maple appear to have significant structural issues. This indicates a high potential public safety and liability risk to the Town with the impending arrival of EAB, as well as significant economic and ecological repercussions.
Examples of other possible objectives: • Identify liability associated with tree death •Minimizes costs •Manage urban canopy cover •Engage community in urban forest conservation •Public outreach plan for private tree issues
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The town will arrange for a complete inventory of street trees, and trees in maintained areas of parks, playgrounds and cemeteries. This inventory will provide location, tree species, tree size (dbh, height, canopy width), tree condition and hazard data for each of the trees. This is crucial in order to effectively plan for impending EAB infestation, to efficiently manage non-‐ash trees, and to plan for optimum tree diversity in future re-‐planting programs. It is critical that this inventory be completed within one year so that planning can commence and additional funding to augment the current budget can be sought. There will be no formal inventory of ash in municipal woodlots and unmaintained areas of parks. Parks staff will conduct a walk through assessment of existing trails to determine areas where ash are located within a trees length of the trail. Results of the inventory will be used to select appropriate ash trees for treatment and to identify ash trees in poor condition or with high failure potential that can be removed and replaced before EAB arrives. As well, non-‐ash trees that have significant hazard potential will be removed and re-‐placed prior to the arrival of EAB, which is expected to monopolize the Parks budget for several years after its arrival. After completion of this inventory, it will be essential to keep this inventory up to date. This will be done using a rolling method where approximately 15% will be assessed each year.
Surveillance The Town will monitor for the arrival of EAB using a combination of methods. Since the beetle is expected to infest all ash trees in town within a few years of arrival, no delimitation survey is planned. Survey trapping will be conducted in high-‐risk areas of the Town beginning in the spring of 2013. These areas will include the block of Main Street between 3rd and 4th Avenue where there are a number of ash trees in poor condition, along the major transportation routes through town, and near the tree nurseries at the edge of town. Survey traps will be green prism traps with green leaf volatile lures. To augment the prism traps all parks and maintenance staff will be trained to recognize signs and symptoms of EAB so that they can monitor for potentially infested ash trees during their normal course of work. Branch sampling will be conducted on any trees identified as being potentially infested by the beetle.
An ash only inventory is another strategy if budget is
limited. This will be sufficient for planning and managing for EAB, but does not allow for planning for
non-‐ash trees.
Other trapping approaches are a grid survey or a
modified grid survey. These methods could be useful for determining the distribution
of EAB.
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Priorities and plan of action The Town will use the tree inventory to plan a multi-‐faceted approach to urban tree management. Since all management costs will increase with time and with increasing demand for services and products, and because one of the goals of the plan is to spread costs over a number of years, work will be initiated this summer.
i) Proactive removals and replacement of declining ash. Ash with a moderate to high risk of failure and small ash (<20cm dbh) as identified in the inventory will be removed proactively. This approach will allow flexibility in removal schedules, as well as the opportunity to spread costs over a greater length of time. The goal is to conduct a portion of these proactive removals yearly beginning in 2014 (i.e. the summer after the inventory is complete). Replanting of alternate tree species is planned within one year of removal.
ii) Protection of selected ash trees with insecticide. The goal of insecticide treatment
is to preserve ash trees in the urban tree canopy both for the environmental and social benefits that these mature trees provide, but also for their cultural value in AshTown. This method is selected because even with repeated treatments it is economical for most size classes of tree (Table 1), and it allows better control over costs than a no action management plan where trees are removed as they die. The target percentage or number of trees that will be treated will be determined after the tree inventory is completed and the data analyzed. Treatment will begin within a year of the first detection of EAB either within AshTown or within 20km of AshTown. Candidate trees will meet the following criteria:
i. Good or excellent crown, stem and root condition ii. Minimal or no canopy decline (≤15% foliage loss) iii. ≥25 cm dbh iv. Acceptable location (not encroaching on structures)
Areas where ash are especially meaningful for the community, or streets with a high proportion of ash will be prioritized for treatment to mitigate the impact of canopy loss. Ash trees around the municipal office will be treated, to preserve the cultural integrity of the Town. Ash trees in playgrounds will also be prioritized for the shading benefits that they provide.
TreeAzin systemic insecticide will be used for the initial years of treatment because of its scientifically documented efficacy and minimum of environmental effects. Insecticide use will be reviewed yearly and if other insecticides registered in Canada for EAB are shown to be effective, insecticide selection may change.
Other treatment options currently registered in Canada: Confidor 200 SL, systemic insecticide, Acecap 97 systemic insecticide implants
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Diameter at breast height
(cm)
Average cost of removal* and stump grinding
Replacement cost
Total remove and
replacement cost
Average cost per tree per treatment** ($6/cm dbh)
10.0-‐24.9 $318.75 $400.00 $718.75 na 25.0-‐30.0 $318.75 $400.00 $718.75 $165.00 30.1-‐40.0 $625.70 $400.00 $1,025.70 $210.00
40.1-‐50.0 $625.70 $400.00 $1,025.70 $270.00 50.1-‐60.0 $625.70 $400.00 $1,025.70 $330.00
60.1-‐70.0 $1,325.00 $400.00 $1,725.00 $390.00 70.1-‐80.0 $1,325.00 $400.00 $1,725.00 $450.00
80.1-‐90.0 $1,325.00 $400.00 $1,725.00 $510.00 90.1-‐100.0 $2,090.00 $400.00 $2,490.00 $570.00 *cost will be greater if tree dead and cannot be removed safely **at least 4-‐5 treatments estimated, every two years
Table 1 Comparison of removal and replacement vs. treatment costs (based on 2013 pricing).
iii) Proactive hazard tree monitoring and removal. Town parks and operations staff will be trained to recognize ash with signs and symptoms of EAB infestation, as well as hazardous trees in general, with the intention that they will identify these trees during their usual work routine. This will augment annual monitoring for symptomatic and declining ash, which will occur yearly for street and park trees. Symptomatic ash trees will be removed as soon as possible after detection before they become brittle and them more difficult (and expensive) to remove.
iv) Replanting. Replanting will occur as soon as feasible after tree removal. The
objectives of future plantings will be a 1:1 replacement ratio with site-‐appropriate species, as well as a maximization of urban tree diversity. Minimum standards will be the 30-‐20-‐10 guideline where there will be no more than 30% trees of one family, 20% of one genus, and 10% of one species; however, the goal will be no more than 15% of one genus and no more than 7% of one species. There is currently limited tree diversity in AshTown and this may lead to similar problems in the future should another invasive insect or pathogen arrive (e.g. Asian Longhorned Beetle). Ash trees will not be planted in AshTown until a reasonable method of managing EAB is identified. Planting will be deferred if the budget is not adequate to both replace and properly maintain the newly planted tree (watering, training pruning etc.). Areas with the greatest canopy loss will be prioritized for replanting.
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v) Park trails closures. Due to the public risk posed by dead ash trees along woodland trail systems, sections of trail with adjacent ash trees will be closed to the public when severely declining or dead ash are found along them. These trails will stay closed until all dead ash trees have fallen and the trails can be cleared (est. 10-‐15 years after EAB arrival).
vi) Maintenance of non-‐ash trees. We aim to complete routine maintenance of non-‐
ash trees species before the arrival of EAB with only maintenance for hazard trees or limbs during the EAB infestation phase. Routine tree maintenance resume will as soon as possible after the infestation abates.
vii) Private ash trees. It is estimated that more than 50% of the ash trees in the Town
are located on private property and many of these trees are large, mature trees. Costs to private landowners for treatment or removal could be considerable. Strategies will be implemented to increase public awareness of EAB and options for treating ash. The Town will liaise with interest groups (e.g. horticulture groups), resident’s associations and local ENGO’s to help increase awareness. In addition, the Town will conduct open houses, approach local television and radio outlets to broadcast public service ads, place print ads in the community newspaper, and make pamphlets available in municipal buildings and on the Town website. There are helpful existing publications such as “What you need to know about the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB); guidelines for hiring tree care services to manage urban trees” that will be made available on the Town website.
Private ash trees are an important part of AshTown’s urban canopy cover. Therefore a tax incentive program to defray treatment costs for homeowners choosing to treat healthy ash is being investigated.
viii) Ash biomass utilization and disposal. Infested wood will be chipped (tub-‐grinder) to destroy EAB larvae; resulting mulch will be used for new plantings, trails etc. and be provided free of charge to residents. The Town will work with local upper and lower tier municipalities to identify suitable marshaling yards and disposal facilities for unused woodchips.
ix) Limit movement of high-‐risk ash products into AshTown. The Town will work with local firewood dealers to promote use of local wood. One option is to provide wood waste from removal of un-‐infested, disease-‐free street trees.
x) Research. The Town will support research projects on various aspects of EAB detection, management or biocontrol through providing research sites, sharing data and providing technical support where feasible. In return the Town will have access to the latest research findings.
Since EAB feeds superficially most of the wood of the tree is usable. Other
utilization options include selling larger ash trees for lumber (within quarantine zone); purchasing a portable mill to
produce lumber for municipal projects (e.g. picnic tables, flooring).
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Implementation The Manager of Parks, Recreation and Forestry will be responsible for overseeing the plan and its implementation. An RFP will be tendered for the initial street tree inventory. We will retain the services of a tree care company for the tree removal and re-‐planting.
Communications plan Key stakeholders are identified and a preliminary communications plan compiled (Table 2).
Table 2 Communication plan for EAB arrival
Public education and outreach EAB is an aggressive tree-‐killing insect that will kill all or most ash trees in AshTown unless they are treated with insecticide. Beetle-‐killed ash trees quickly become hazardous and expensive to remove. The arrival of this beetle will be costly for both the town and private landowners. By delaying its arrival, through the co-‐operation of businesses, residents and visitors, costs will be deferred and may be reduced through greater planning time;
Message content (what)
Objective (why)
Stakeholder (who) Timing or frequency (when)
Method (how)
Initial communications Threat of EAB & impact on AshTown
Inform Mayor & councila, residentsb
aCompleted bASAP
aMeeting, formal report bPost on Town website, media releases
Additional budget requirements for tree inventory and communications plan
Obtain additional budget
Mayor, council, budget committee
Next council meeting Meeting, formal report
EAB arrival in proximity of AshTown
Inform Mayor & councila, residents, professional and interest groupsb
On confirmation of find
aInformal report, phone call or email bMedia release, website
Recurring communications Management plan status, infestation status
Inform Mayor and council Quarterly or more frequently as needed
Informal report, meetings
Subsequent budget increases
Meet budgetary needs
Mayor, council, budget committee
Yearly Meeting, formal report
EAB status in county and in AshTown; status of management interventions.
Update/status report All stakeholders Website, media releases
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moreover this time delay may allow for other treatment or management options to emerge. Secondly, through the co-‐operation of all stakeholders we may have more timely knowledge of the beetle’s arrival in the Town and management strategies can be initiated with optimum timing, potentially reducing costs.
Goal: Engage stakeholders and provide them with information about the threat of EAB, what they can do to prevent its introduction, and how to identify its arrival.
Key messages: 1. Buy local firewood.
Stakeholders for messaging: • Firewood dealers • Camper registration employees • Hunting and fishing license applicants • Boating license/rental applicants
2. Know the signs and symptoms of EAB and report them.
Stakeholders for messaging: • Nature groups • Master gardeners • Forestry workers • Arborists • Landscapers • Greens keepers • Homeowners
Messaging: • News releases • Fact sheets (campgrounds, garden centres, community centres, marinas, outfitters
and outdoor stores, municipal events) • Information packages to professional associations (foresters, arborists etc.) and
interest groups (nature groups, master gardeners) • Email updates to stakeholders and other interested parties (closest EAB detections,
new information about EAB detection and management) • Open house • Centralized information source: city website will post updates as well as digital
copies of fact sheets and information packages; links to other up-‐to-‐date sources of information and printed materials; inquiry line for questions and reports of possible sightings.
Inspection and verification protocol: Within two working days of the stakeholder’s report of a possible EAB-‐infestation, trained Town staff will assess the tree(s) reported to have signs or symptoms of EAB.
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Funding: The Department of Parks, Recreation and Forestry will seek: $8,000 from the budget committee to fund the current communications plan. The Department is seeking partnerships with other towns in the county to produce materials and to obtain bulk rates for publications.
Budget and timeline Managing for EAB will involve a long-‐term monetary commitment (est. 10-‐15 years). This will be addressed in the Towns short and long-‐term operating budgets (Table 3). Table 3. Budget illustrating relative costs per year of street tree management
Action Yr 1 Yr 2 Yr 3 Yr 4* Yr 5 Yr 6 Yr 7 Yr 8 Yr 9 Yr 10 Full inventory and analysis of street and park trees
$$$
Monitor for EAB and hazard trees
$ $ $ $ $ $
Ash tree selection and treatment (2 sets of trees with alternating treatment years)
$$ $$ $$ $$ $$ $$ $$
Proactive ash removal and replanting
$$ $$ $$
Removals and replanting of declining ash
$$ $$ $$ $$$$ $$$$ $$$$
Communications and outreach
$ $
Maintenance non-‐ash hazard trees
$ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $
Staff support to oversee EAB plan
$ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $
* EAB expected to be within 15 km
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