City crews premptively take down Ash trees to prevent bug spread

It didn't take long for Paul Sotzen and his wife to notice the change to his neighborhood.

“My wife was saying, ‘Well, the sun was shining in my eyes here and it's never done that before,'” Sotzen said. “Then we realized all the trees were gone.”

This winter, Cedar Rapids city crews have taken down nearly 150 Ash trees that once lined neighborhood roads. It's a proactive response to the threat of the Emerald Ash Borer – an invasive species slowly spreading across the continent.

“So what we're doing is removing those trees that are structurally unsound, in Ash decline or have canopy loss,” said Cedar Rapids Public Works Maintenance Manager Craig Hanson.

The city has a lot of work to do. Hanson estimates 30% of the trees in Cedar Rapids are Ash, which adds up to nearly 15,000 trees.

Arborists say all of them could die if and when the bug finally invades Iowa.

Mark Signs with Trees Forever, based in Marion, said the threat of dying trees is at least five years off. But, Hanson said cities don't have enough staff to remove that many trees in a year. He said on average the city removes 1,000 trees a year without sacrificing other city projects.

Cedar Rapids isn't the only city facing this crisis.

“We've seen neighborhoods that have 90 percent Ash in them,” said Signs.

Signs said after the Dutch Elm disease disaster 40 years ago, cities and developers chose Ashes as a cheap and fast-growing replacement. Hanson said cities were too shortsighted and now a lack of diversity is threatening the city.

“If somebody lived through the Dutch Elm and saw those beautiful tree-lined Iowa streets disappear, it's going to be the same,” said Signs.

Cedar Rapids plans to replant trees of varying species for each one they take out, not every city has the same plan.

Justin Foss, KCRG-TV