LE MARS – There are around 800 ash trees in Le Mars. Within a decade or so they will all be gone.
That was the municipal forest forecast presented to the Le Mars City Council at its meeting on Tuesday 18 July.
According to City Manager Jason Vacura and Public Facilities/Parks Manager Brad Eppling, who reported to the council, the Emerald Ash Borer has infiltrated the ash trees of Le Mars. Vacura said efforts will be made to remove dying and potentially dangerous trees, while treating seemingly healthy ash trees to extend their lifespan.
But he said it was unlikely they could be saved.
“I don’t know if there’s a surefire way to defeat him,” Vacura said of the Emerald Ashbore. “Eventually all ash trees will disappear. I think we have to accept that.”
The US Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service explains the damage the invasive insect has wreaked on North America.
“The emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis) is a destructive wood pest of ash trees. Native to China, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan and the Russian Far East, the emerald borer beetle (EAB) was unknown in North America until its discovery in southeastern Michigan in 2002,” reports the USDA. “Today, EAB infestations have been identified in 36 states and the District of Columbia.”
It was reported in Iowa in 2010 and has now been confirmed in 97 of Iowa’s 99 counties, with only Emmet and Palo Alto not having a confirmed case. In early June, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources confirmed the invasive pest was in Plymouth County after a regional tree service alerted the DNR that an ash tree in Remsen was showing symptoms of an infestation.
According to the DNR, the insect larvae burrow under the bark of ash trees, disrupting the tree’s ability to transport water and nutrients. This damage usually kills an ash tree within two to four years.
Symptoms include canopy thinning, leaf sprouts shooting out of the trunk or main branches, snake-like patterns under the bark, bark splitting, woodpecker damage, and 1/8-inch D-shaped exit holes.
Eppling examined 370 ash trees in the city, they said, most of which are in good condition. But the invasive insect will eventually fail them, he said.
Eppling didn’t study every tree in the city, including at the Willow Creek Golf Club Course, a 27-hole municipal golf course. He said this was the hardest-hit part of the city, along with the area around Cleveland Park and Le Mars Memorial Cemetery.
Mayor Rob Bixenman thanked him for producing a very thorough report on city owned trees.
“Big thumbs up,” he said. “It was impressive.”
Councilor Steve Wick said he too was very impressed with the report.
The plan is to make a list of the trees and rank them according to their state of health. Those considered to be the most dangerous and at risk of falling and possibly injuring someone or causing damage are removed first.
Vacura said contracting with local tree care services is a possible solution. Since the cost per tree will be around $1,000, he has prepared a tentative budget of $50,000 per year for 15 years.
The city council asked if the city should hire another employee to focus on clearing trees, treating survivable trees and replacing them with new ones.
“I think we’ll start planting replacement plants as soon as possible,” Vacura said.
But he said this will require tree maintenance, including regular watering.
“You don’t just stick a tree in the ground and hope it survives,” Vacura said.
Bixenman asked if the city could cover much of the distance and found that $1,000 per tree quickly added up.
“We generally have the equipment to cut down the trees, don’t we?” he asked.
He said it might make sense to hire someone else and “pick up the pace a little faster.” Councilor Clark Goodchild agreed with the idea, mentioning that Eppling, as ‘Tree Czar’, should be given the power to determine which trees should be removed.
Councilman Mike Donlin asked what would happen to the employee after the tree issue was resolved. Goodchild said there will always be work to do.
Eppling said he welcomes the idea of hiring another employee or two.
“I could use some people,” he said with a smile while the councilors laughed. “I need them urgently.”
Councilman Mark Sturgeon said this would prevent Eppling from asking for another staff member for a number of years. Hiring another city employee to work on trees is likely to be discussed at the 2023-24 budget hearings.
Eppling said city teams could do some of the removal and said they removed up to 60 trees in a year. But to cut down 800 trees in the next few years, the city will have to consider other options, he said.
Once the trees are felled, they can be shredded into mulch or used as firewood, Eppling said.
The council was told that treating trees will not save them but it would buy time before they have to be removed. This will allow the city to prevent large-scale canopy loss in the city.
Vacura said because it’s a statewide issue, he reached out to other communities to see how they’re dealing with it. He received replies from Algona, Ames, Charles City and Nevada.
It was agreed that there was no chance of preserving the ash trees and that treating them would be expensive. Ames has budgeted $1.2 million over 20 years to remove its diseased trees and replace them with healthy ones.
Sturgeon urged Vacura to continue communicating with other cities and communities.
“Maybe there are other good ideas,” Donlin said.
There was once a tree farm in town, and Eppling and Vacura were asked if that was an option. Councilman Clark Goodchild said the city has ample open space for seedlings to grow.
Eppling said when the city tried to do this previously, flooding damaged the young trees, and rabbits and deer made it a regular dining spot.
“Especially in the fall, they just destroy them,” he said.
Vacura said the city could contract with a tree nursery to purchase trees annually.
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