Akron wants stimulus money to cut down endangered ash trees

By Katie Byard
Beacon Journal staff writer

POSTED: 06:20 p.m. EDT, May 10, 2009

Akron hopes to land federal stimulus money to cut down more than 1,000 healthy ash trees — the species targeted by a tree-killing beetle.

The move is pre-emptive; the emerald ash borer beetle eventually will make its way to Summit County, said city arborist Bill Hahn.

''It's not a question of if; it's when,'' Hahn said.

Officials are seeking about $762,000 to take down and replace all ash trees — an estimated 1,075 trees — in city rights-of-way.

Once infested by the pest — first found in this country in 2002 — trees die within a few years.

They then become a menace, Hahn said.

''They become dangerous — very brittle and they fall apart very quickly — when they die,'' Hahn said.

''Gravity takes its toll'' and branches fall, he said.

The dark green beetle was first spotted in the United States in Michigan. It is believed to have arrived in this country stowed away in cargo from Asia.

The pest has spread to many Ohio counties, including Medina, Portage, Wayne and Cuyahoga, as well as parts of Indiana, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia and Ontario. It has killed millions of trees.

Hahn said city officials don't want to see a repeat of what happened in the 1960s, when Dutch elm disease claimed many elms.

''They were dead and falling down all over town and they were huge,'' he said.

The city has been removing the trees under a five-year program that began last year. General funds covered the bill to cut down and replace 150 to 200 ash trees last year and the first part of this year.

The federal money would allow Akron to accelerate its removal program. The city would hire contractors to do the work.

The city notifies residents with trees that will be removed from the front of their homes.

While 1,000-plus trees sound like a lot, they represent less than 1 percent of the trees in city rights-of-way, Hahn said.

Akron is replacing the ash trees with a variety of species, including American yellowwood, elm, linden and crab apple, the fruiting and nonfruiting varieties.

The federal money would flow through the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, which is seeking $9 million to divvy up to communities, said Drew Todd, state urban-forestry coordinator.

Treating the trees to stave off the Asian beetle would be too expensive, foresters say.

''Once you start the treatments, you basically have to keep it going. You can't just treat it one year and then stop,'' said Pat Neville, forester for Shaker Heights, which also is seeking federal funds to speed up its removal program.

Neville said the borer hasn't been detected in that city.

Strongsville, in western Cuyahoga County, also wants to take a pre-emptive strike.

Strongsville tried a volunteer program, in which homeowners would sign up to have trees removed from tree lawns. Few residents took advantage of it.

''Most people want to wait and see and hope for the best,'' said Jennifer Milbrandt, Strongsville's coordinator of natural resources. ''We try to explain it's just a matter of time'' before ash borers arrive.

Akron also is applying for nearly $700,000 in federal stimulus money for a tree survey that would identify damaged trees, as well as spots for additional trees. This money also would pay for replacement trees.

The program would involve workers from Davey Resource Group — part of the Davey Tree Expert Co. of Kent — fanning into neighborhoods with portable computers.

http://www.ohio.com/news/44677172.html

All people will die eventually too it's not a matter of if, but when therefor we should kill all humans too. At least that would solve the economic crisis.

Akron also is applying for nearly $700,000 in federal stimulus money for a tree survey that would identify damaged trees, as well as spots for additional trees. This money also would pay for replacement trees.

The program would involve workers from Davey Resource Group — part of the Davey Tree Expert Co. of Kent — fanning into neighborhoods with portable computers.