CG council will consider ash borer plan

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Cottage Grove City Council on Wednesday will consider approval of a plan to manage the encroaching Emerald Ash Borer, an Asian beetle that has destroyed millions of trees across North America and has been detected as close as St. Paul.

Officials say the management plan will be the largest project undertaken by the city’s public works forestry division in the past 30 years. It will oversee some 4,000 boulevard trees Cottage Grove is directly accountable for, as well as an additional 10,000 trees on private property the city may have some additional responsibilities toward.

The plan calls for a combination of chemical treatment of trees, and preemptive removal and replacement of weakened ash trees over a period of 12 years.

In a report to city council members, city forester Steve Bowe estimated the removal of between 50 and 150 ash trees per year.

In August, the city budgeted $162,000 in 2010 for combating the Emerald Ash Borer. Public works officials have forecast an additional $162,000 per year will be needed until an analysis of the program is conducted in 2013-2014.

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