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A changing landscape

With emerald ash borers 60 miles from Marshall, city approves plan to replace ash trees in parks and public areas

Photo by Deb Gau With emerald ash borers causing damage to trees in communities as close as Worthington, the city of Marshall is planning to gradually replace ash trees planted on public property like municipal parks. At Independence Park (above), there are a total of 198 ash trees, or about a third of all the trees in the park.

MARSHALL — An invasive insect that feeds on ash trees is already causing damage in southwest Minnesota, and Marshall needs to be proactive to protect its green spaces, city staff said.

On Tuesday, members of the Marshall City Council approved a plan to gradually remove and replace hundreds of ash trees at risk from the emerald ash borer.

“It’s going to affect us greatly,” said Marshall Parks Superintendent Preston Stensrud. A tree inventory completed last fall counted a total of 744 ash trees in Marshall’s city parks, and around schools and other public areas.

Stensrud and Minnesota GreenCorps member Kelly Herfendal presented an ash tree replacement plan to the council. The plan includes removing 10% of the city’s ash trees each year, over 10 years. Stensrud said the plan would focus on ash trees on city property, like parks and areas around the public library, fire hall and schools.

The estimated cost of the project is around $850 a tree.

“I think we started this back in 2011,” when Marshall began replanting trees damaged after severe storms, Stensrud said. The city began planning ahead for how new trees should be planted. Herfendal also prepared the plan to replace ash trees in Marshall, and to help educate the public on tree planting and identifying pests.

The emerald ash borer is a non-native beetle, originally from Asia, Herfendal said. Emerald ash borer larva burrow under the bark of ash trees, and the tunnels the larva make end up killing the trees. Ash borers don’t travel very far on their own, but they can hitch a ride in loads of firewood.

“Its main spread is through human transport,” Herfendal said.

Stensrud said the emerald ash borer has been found in trees in Worthington. And while the ash borer hasn’t been found in Lyon County yet, it is present in Nobles, Cottonwood and Brown counties, Herfendal said.

The impact of the emerald ash borer on trees across Minnesota was similar to what happened with Dutch elm disease in the 1960s and 70s, Stensrud said.

Part of the meeting materials city council members received for Tuesday included an inventory of ash trees on public land in Marshall. There are significant numbers of ash trees planted in Marshall parks — for example, there are 198 ash trees in Independence Park alone, the inventory said. Ash trees make up about 35% of the trees at Legion Field Park, especially in the areas around the picnic shelter and playground.

According to the inventory, ash trees make up 62% of the trees around the Marshall-Lyon County Library, and 60% of the trees at Victory Park, near the Redwood River at the southwestern edge of town.

Herfendal and Stensrud said the plan will be for Marshall to replace the ash trees with a variety of different tree species that grow well in southwest Minnesota. With a bigger variety of trees, Stensrud said, “Hopefully the next thing is more sporadic, instead of losing 50% of the trees in one park.”

The Minnesota DNR has a list of recommended tree species to replace ash trees, which includes species like quaking aspens, some oaks, conifers and disease-resistant varieties of elm, Herfendal said.

As part of the ash tree replacement plan, the city would start a gravel bed growing area for young trees, that can be used to help replace the ash trees that are removed. Stensrud said the focus will be on first removing trees that are older or less healthy, because emerald ash borers are attracted to those trees first.

The ash tree replacement plan would also help establish a Tree Advisory Board to educate the public on what kinds of trees to plant, tree health and pests like the emerald ash borer.

Even with the replacement program, losing mature ash trees will be a big change for city parks, Stensrud said. Areas like the picnic shelter in Legion Field Park would be much more out in the open than before.

“The landscape is going to be significantly different,” he said.

“I know a lot of work has gone into this,” Marshall Mayor Bob Byrnes said of the plan. The city would need to take action, because the emerald ash borer has already threatened other southwest Minnesota communities, he said. “I think it’s a good idea to be proactive.”

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