Officials find Emerald Ash Borer in Cedar Rapids

Update:

CEDAR RAPIDS - With the second case of emerald ash borer in Cedar Rapids in less than two years, city and state officials say cases will soon begin to mount with a spike in ash loss in two summers from now.

'Once it starts to go and once the insect reaches high population that's when you will really start to see the impact,” said Todd Fagan, Cedar Rapids arborist. 'We expect we would see more ash mortality next summer, and the summer after that would see a lot.”

Mike Kintner, the emerald ash borer coordinator for the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, agreed with the assessment.

'Now that newest tree has been determined to have ash borer, I would anticipate more and more trees will become visible later this summer and fall and more next year,” Kintner said. 'That is the struggle with this pest once it shows up, trees deteriorate quickly.”

The insect has spread to 51 counties in Iowa, most recently popping up in Butler County in June, Kintner said.

Roughly 17 percent or about 7,400 of the cities 43,000 trees are ash, according to tree inventory conducted by the city. Fagan said the city plans to continue its current course, which as been in place for several years, which is to continue to inspect ashes, remove ones that deteriorating, and treat some of the population to help stagger the decline.

'We would go around and take out things struggling already,” Fagan said. 'We will continue on with the plan we are using already, looking at the inventory. We are not going to start cutting down all of the ash trees.”

Posted at 9:29 a.m.

CEDAR RAPIDS - City officials believe an ash tree within Cedar Rapids has been infected by Emerald Ash Borer, a devastating exotic beetle whose larvae eats away ash trees from within.

The city is awaiting confirmation from the Department of Agriculture, but will proceed as if this is a confirmed sighting and remove the tree, as well as inspecting ash trees in the vicinity. Emerald Ash Borer had been found at the Interstate 380 rest-stop on the southern edge of Cedar Rapids in 2015, but had not previously penetrated the core of the city.

Consequences of emerald ash borer could be severe for the tree canopy in Cedar Rapids, which has about 10,000 public ash trees, plus more on private property. A tree inventory found 17 percent of the tree canopy in the city is made up of trees in the ash family.

'Unlike other trees like oak or elm, which remain relatively stable after they die, ash trees lose moisture internally very quickly and begin to fall apart soon after they die, creating public nuisance or hazard situations,” city officials said in a news release on Thursday.

The city has been bracing for the arrival of emerald ash borer by diversifying its tree stock through planting 25 to 30 different species and removing 2,000 declining ash trees.

Residents are responsible for ash trees on their own property, and can discuss concerns about ash trees in their parkway by contacting the city arborist at 319-286-5747.

'Homeowners can also treat their ash trees on private property, but it requires continual treatment for the life of the tree, and may not guarantee a tree's survival,” according to the city. 'Trees with storm damage or other safety concerns will need to be removed, regardless of treatment.”

Dead branches near the top of a tree, leafy shoots sprouting from the trunk, bark splits exposing larval galleries, extensive woodpecker activity, and D-shaped exit holes are possible signs of an infected tree.

More information is available on the city's website at cedar-rapids.org/EAB as well as the following websites:

The Emerald Ash Borer Information website is: http://www.emeraldAshborer.info

The Department of Natural Resources: http://www.iowadnr.gov/Environment/Forestry/ForestHealth/EmeraldAshBorer.aspx

The Iowa State University Extension Service website is: http://www.extension.iastate.edu/pme/EmeraldAshBorer.html

l Comments: (319) 339-3177; brian.morelli@thegazette.com