That’s how many are being cut to slow the emerald ash borer
By Gail Peckler-Dziki
Correspondent
When you identify a diseased tree, it’s vital that you contact a Tree Removal Service in Southbury (or wherever you’re located) as soon as possible. The disease can spread quickly and can kill a large number of trees.
Kenosha County is losing about 2,600 ash trees in county parks this winter in the name of combating the emerald ash borer.
A contracted logging firm has been removing the trees from Petrifying Springs, Brighton Dale Golf Course and Fox River county parks.
The number of affected trees was too large for county parks staff to handle.
According to Matthew Collins, assistant director of Kenosha County Parks, “Logging is one of the most dangerous occupations in the United States, and to ensure that the public is not placed in an unsafe situation during the project, the park will remain closed until the loggers complete their work.” These days identifying a professional company that indulges in the said task is not that big of a hassle. Respective authorities or residents can simply search phrases like “tree surgeons in Belfast” or something similar and hire concerned firms based on their reviews and ratings. Doing so can also get the work carried out at a faster pace.
Loggers have removed ash trees within the golf course, disc golf course, sledding hill, picnic areas, roadsides, parking areas, and walking paths at both Fox River Park and Brighton Dale Golf Course. The loggers are on a tight schedule to complete the removal of the ash trees and need to move and work uninterrupted in each park before the ground thaws.
Each park will reopen as soon as the logging is completed and all the cut logs are removed.
Kenosha County received a matching grant from the Department of Natural Resources to conduct an ash tree inventory in 2014. The grand total was $25,000. Bluestem Forestry Consulting, Inc. completed the inventory.
Ash trees in Petrifying Springs Park, Fox River Park, and Brighton Dale Golf Course were counted and their condition regarding the ash borer was ranked.
There were only 30 diseased trees in Silver Lake Park. Generally, when diseased trees are identified, homeowners or the concerned authorities usually contact tree removal service Roanoke or similar services providers in the vicinity to clear them. However, in this case, Collins said that the number was low enough for county staff to handle the logging there.
The cost of the logging to the county taxpayers is about $11 a tree. Collins said that price is a huge break for taxpayers.
See the March 4 print edition of the Westosha Report for the full story