Fight to save Ash Trees continues

Almost 150 million ash trees in Indiana are in danger.
Photo: Troy McCormick

Indianapolis, In. — The war against the emerald ash borer is being waged on multiple fronts, fueled by donations from individuals, families, nonprofit organizations and companies determined to save ash tree populations in selected areas of Indiana state parks and state-owned nature preserves.

Beginning June 14, 119 strategically chosen ash trees will be injected with emamectin benzoate, which kills larvae of the emerald ash borer (EAB) but is deemed safe for pollinators such as bees and butterflies. The trees have been selected based on the likelihood of preserving stands of ash trees as the pest devastates forests and woodlands moving from northern to southern Indiana.

The Indiana Parks Alliance is behind the effort, called Save Our Ash Trees. IPA has collected more than $28,000 for the project, including major funding from the Dr. Laura Hare Charitable Trust.

Donate online at http://indianaparksalliance.org/save-our-ash-trees/

We can’t save every ash tree, and in some areas, they’re completely gone,” says IPA president Tom Hohman. “What we can do is identify areas where we can treat 15-20 trees and give them a good chance of surviving to repopulate after the emerald ash borer has moved on.”

Davey Resource Group is contracted to treat trees specified by IPA and staff from the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, which manages state parks and nature preserves.

Trees to be treated starting about June 14 are in:

Calvert and Porter Nature Preserve (Montgomery County)
Harmonie State Park, including Harmonie Hills Nature Preserve and Wabash Border Nature Preserve
McCormick’s Creek State Park, including Wolf Cave Nature Preserve
Shades State Park, including Pine Hills Nature Preserve
Turkey Run State Park

IPA also has funded purchase of equipment and emamectin benzoate for the Department of Nature Preserves to treat approximately 60 additional trees at:

Coal Hollow Nature Preserve (Parke County)
Minton Nature Preserve (Floyd County)
Nine Penny Branch Nature Preserve (Clark County)
Patoka Lake
Russel Bend Nature Preserve (Parke County)

“We set an initial goal of $20,000 to treat 100 trees,” said Hohman of the IPA. “We quickly passed that mark, thanks largely to the Dr. Laura Hare Charitable Trust. But many people who love our Indiana woodlands are supporting this effort. Together, we’re working to save as many ash trees as we can. Davey Resource Group is helping us stretch those donated dollars, and we’re helping the Division of Nature Preserves treat additional trees by donating equipment and supplies for their use.”

The Indiana Parks Alliance website and Facebook page have more information, including a video about the emerald ash borer and the treatments funded through IPA’s Save Our Ash Trees program. Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/indianaparksalliance/).

The Indiana Parks Alliance is a charitable organization that supports and advocates for Indiana Department of Natural Resources State Parks and Nature Preserves, and the people they serve through education, promotion, fundraising and assistance for local friends groups. For more, visit www.indianaparksalliance.org.

The Dr. Laura Hare Charitable Trust awards grants to eligible not-for-profit organizations with a record of environmental protection, preservation, stewardship, and education and with a primary purpose related to preserving and protecting ecologically significant natural lands. Dr. Hare was a medical doctor with a love of nature and conservation. For more, visit www.haretrust.org.

FAQs

What is an emerald ash borer?

The emerald ash borer is an exotic beetle, originally from Asia, that was first discovered in Michigan in 2002 and in Indiana in 2004. This invasive insect is 1/3 inch in length and bright, metallic green in color. The adult lays eggs only in ash trees. Emerald ash borers in the U.S. have no predators during their larval stage.

How do they kill ash trees?
Larvae feed on the inner bark of the tree, creating tunnels that circle the trunk and cut off the flow of water and nutrients from roots to leaves. Leaves in the top third of the tree die first, and then the damage moves down to lower branches.

Why should we care?
Ash trees make up 10-20% of the diversity of tree species in our Hoosier forests, totaling about 147 million trees. Another two million grace city parks, residential lawns and street plantings. Ash wood is used for furniture, flooring, cabinets, hockey and lacrosse sticks, baseball bats, urban street plantings, and Native American traditional baskets, pipe stems, flutes and medicinal remedies.

To maintain a remnant population of ash trees in Indiana, we must save mature, seed-producing specimens to create a future seed source of EAB-resistant ash trees. These trees are native species to our Indiana forests and the introduction of EAB is a man-made disaster, not a natural one. It is up to us to preserve these native species so they may repopulate after the killing wave of EAB has passed.

The chestnut blight of the late 19^th century and the Dutch elm disease in the mid-20^th century virtually eliminated those two species from our woodlands and streetscapes. We have the opportunity to keep that from happening again with our native ashes.

What’s the treatment?
A special insecticide is injected into holes drilled near ground level and kills emerald ash borers as it’s drawn upward. The insecticide used in this program (Emamectin benzoate) is safe for pollinators like honey bees (not a neonicotinoid). IPA’s Save our Ash Trees! program focuses on areas of the state that have not already been decimated by the emerald ash borer.

How bad is the problem?
Millions of mature ash trees have already been killed in Indiana, and the mortality rate is expected to hit 95% in the next decade. Projected economic losses to urban forests are estimated to be $10-20 billion. The U.S. Forest Service projects that all eight billion ash trees in American forests will die off unless protected against the emerald ash borer.