Iowans see emerald ash borer as top tree threat, survey shows

Iowa lawmakers and forestry advocates used the world's fascination with three bald eagles hatching in an aerie outside of Decorah in northeast Iowa to draw attention to billion-dollar threats to the state's woodlands.

“I'm from northeast Iowa, the part of Iowa that has many beautiful trees,” Sen. Mary Jo Wilhelm. D-Cresco, said at a Trees Forever news conference on the Capitol steps to announce the results of a survey of Iowans' concerns with their forests and woodlands.

“One of our trees is famous right now – the tree that is housing the newest family in Decorah, the eagles,” she said, referring to a nest, 80 feet up a cottonwood tree near the Decorah Fish Hatchery where three bald eagles have hatched.

A live webcam feed of the eagles - www.ustream.tv/decoraheagles - has attracted more than 11 million online views, according to the project's website.

The health of that tree and all of Iowa's trees is a major concern for Trees Forever. It found that emerald ash borer is the top concern of Iowans involved in community forestry projects.

Emerald ash borer presents a $1 million-a-year potential threat to Iowa forestry industry and landowners and $2.5 billion in community removal and replacement costs and value of urban trees, according to the Coalition for Iowa's Woodlands & trees. The potential loss over the next 20 years will be nearly $10.5 billion to communities and $300 million to the wood products industry, the coalition said.

Iowa's wood products industries generate more than $3.9 billion annually, employ almost 18,000 people and have an annual payroll of nearly $1 million, Rep. Bob Hager, R-Dorchester, said. As a campground owner, he added, the trees make northeast Iowa attractive to hunters, angler, hikers and tourists “and I want to keep them coming.”

Trees Forever board members and Linn County Supervisor Brent Oleson noted that in Cedar Rapids alone, the energy savings benefit of trees is $1.5 billion a year.

To address the threat, the Senate Ag and Natural Resources Appropriations Subcommittee has added a $100,000 line item for forestry health and management.

“It's modest,” Wilhelm said, “but we are in a budget time when every line item is being scrutinized. So we'd like to start with something and, hopefully, open discussions to further fund this well-needed and well-deserved situation.”

It likely will be part of the discussion, House Appropriations Committee Chairman Scott Raecker, R-Urbandale, said. It isn't in the House ag and natural resources budget at this time.

State Forester Paul Tauke would like to use the funds not only to expand monitoring of emerald ash borer and other woodland pests, including gypsy moths, thousand cankers and burr oak blight, but to help Iowans begin to look beyond those threats.

The Department of Natural Resources, Tauke said, wants to help communities “to start thinking beyond emerald ash borer to a more diverse community forest, so if future invasive, exotic pests hit Iowa we won't have the significant financial impact to communities because they will be more diversified in the future.”

For more, visit

www.treesforever.org