Start Planting To Replace Future Black Ash Trees

Update from the Carnelian-Marine-St. Croix Watershed District.

Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) is an insect native to Asia that causes nearly 100% mortality in North American ash trees. It was first detected in the United States in 2002 and in the Twin Cities metro in 2009. In the last few years, populations of EAB have been found in and around the City of Marine including Square Lake Regional Park and William O’Brien State Park.

The Department of Agriculture has information on their website on how to identify and manage ash trees in urban locations, https://www.mda.state.mn.us/eab-info-homeowners. In addition to ash trees planted in landscapes, many natural areas around the City of Marine have forests that are primarily ash trees, called black ash forests.

These forests will lose all the black ash trees because of EAB. These forests can often be found on flat, low-lying areas near springs. While black ash is the most common trees species, basswood and sugar maple are also commonly found.

Now is the time to begin planting trees to replace the black ash that will be lost.

One low-cost option is planting bare root trees from the Washington Conservation District’s tree sale. Trees can be ordered in early winter and picked up in late April at the Washington County fairgrounds. To receive notifications on the tree sale, sign up here: http://www.mnwcd.org/trees.