Salem’s ash tree population may decrease due to an invasive bug species that’s gaining ground in Oregon.
The beetle itself isn’t damaging city trees yet, but city workers may remove some trees vulnerable to infection to prevent the bugs from spreading.
The Oregon Department of Forestry has directed the city of Salem to catalog city-owned ash trees and their condition as it continues to contend with the emerald ash borer–a wood boring beetle. Described as “possibly the most destructive forest insect in North America” in a statement from the city, the beetle poses a threat to the Willamette Valley–home to a significant population of ash tree groves.
The forestry department has asked the city to remove any trees that are in poor or declining health to reduce and delay the impact of the beetle.
According to a statement from the city Thursday, Salem’s urban forester has been monitoring the movement of the beetle around the country and as a result, has reduced the number of ash trees planted along city streets, parks and stormwater facilities.
Of the 32,000 city trees already inventoried, about 1,700 are a species of ash vulnerable to the emerald ash borer.
The urban forester is developing a management plan including preventative treatments and standard procedures for removing infested trees.
To date, no city-owned trees have been removed due to the presence of emerald ash borers, according to city spokesman Trevor Smith. But there have been some trees removed over the summer that were in poor health.
Those trees, Smith said, would be replaced with an appropriate species of tree.
More information about the emerald ash borer and its impact on Oregon can be found here.
-Caitlyn May
