City instituting plan to thin dying ash tree population
Ash trees infected with Emerald Ash Borer are identified by having a thinning canopy on top and the bottom of the trunk will be punctuated with little water sprouts. Ash trees that are not too far diseased can be saved with an injection. It costs about $200 per application and is required every other year for the life of the tree, an arborist who is an expert in urban forestry told the Humboldt City Council last week. ISU Extension file photo.
By KENT THOMPSON
It appears that the city of Humboldt will have to be equally industrious in its aggressiveness in thinning out diseased ash trees and repopulating city spaces with more desirable species.
That was the word from an urban forestry consultant commissioned by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources to do an inventory and assessment of trees in the city of Humboldt on public lands. He spoke via Zoom at the Humboldt City Council’s meeting on Feb. 20.
Dana Genereux was the arborist hired to do the study.
He reported that 74 percent of the city-owned trees need management, be that crown cleaning, crown reduction, crown raising, removal or tree staking. He cited 227 trees on public property for removal, or about 8 percent. Of that number, 15 were determined “critical” or in a standing dead condition. He recommended 53 trees to be removed in the next three years with the city planting two trees for every one removed.
On an annual basis Humboldt receives $573,024 in benefits from its trees, about $202 per tree.
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