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Tips for Preparing Your Community for Emerald Ash Borers

Pam Louks, coordinator of community and urban forestry for the Department of Natural Resources, recommends the following tips for preparing your community to deal effectively with the threat of emerald ash borers.

1. Inventory tree resources, including ash and other species.

2. Educate yourself and your community about signs and symptoms of the emerald ash borer.

3. Scout potential holding or drop off sites for ash waste.

4. Realize that not all ash will die at once.

5. Learn about compliance agreements, the rules, and regulations a vendor agrees to in the handling of ash debris.

6. Stay on top of emerald ash borer quarantines and abide by them.

7. Develop a plan to restore potential lost canopy in your landscape, your neighborhood and community.

8. Don't plant all one species, called a monoculture. A diverse planting of trees (or any plant group) is the best defense when a disease or pest attacks.

9. Identify portable sawmill operators and others who can help process contaminated ash.

10. Explore reuse options for ash lumber. Contaminated bark can be stripped and the remaining wood can be milled and dried for use by residents, parks, schools, and day care centers for furniture or construction projects.

11. Find tree care companies that may be interested in cutting down infested trees and chipping debris in neighborhoods with heavy infestations. They may be willing to give a discount or group rate.