toronto news_ oakville refuses to cave to emerald menace - thestar

862019 Toronto News_ Oakville Refuses to Cave to Emerald Menace - Thestar

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wwwthestarcomnewsarticle1036438--oakville-refuses-to-cave-to-emerald-menace[882011 95131 PM]

HOT TOPICS ATWOOD VS FORD BIG PICTURE MONTH NORWAY TRAGEDY MARKET MELTDOWN LONDON 2012 POLITICS PAGE BLUE JAYS THE ROYALS

The emerald ash borer an invasive species has been munching its way through the provinces native ash trees over thepast decade

Oa k v i l l e r e f us e s t o c a v e t o e m e r a l d m e n a c e

Alyshah HashamStaff Reporter

The Emerald ash borer the ldquoebola virusrdquo of its species will kill most of the 860000 ashtrees of Toronto by 2017

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But in Oakville hope springs eternal

One in 10 of the townrsquos trees are ash mdash roughly 180000 This year the town councilapproved a multi-layered plan to use pesticides to treat about 7000 trees on publicproperty

But the town isnrsquot stopping there Part of its forestry services action plan is a ldquoCanopy Clubrdquothat encourages residents to work at saving ash trees on private property using FacebookTwitter and community events Therersquos even an emerald ash borer mascot

The town has created two detailed videos explaining how the beautiful green beetlessystematically destroy a tree John McNeil manager of forestry services graphicallydescribes the borer larvae eating through the treersquos nutrient delivery system as theequivalent of cutting through human veins and arteries

The videos also explain the treatment process mdash injecting the tree biannually with TreeAzina pesticide developed by BioForest Technologies and the Canadian Forest Service Thetreatment doesnrsquot cure an infected tree but if repeated every two years it can stave offdeath

A series of interactive maps on the townrsquos website make it easy to find the 80 per cent ofsalvageable trees growing on private property

The town mapped its ash trees through hyperspectral analysis mdash a process that involvedflying over Oakville with a specialized camera capable of detecting ash trees The mapsmake it easy for residents to see whether they live in an area with ash trees Trees aretagged with a GIS system so residents can see whether their favourite ash tree is beingtreated as well as the height and diameter of the tree

Itrsquos not a cheap investment said McNeil The hyperspectral mapping cost around $175000A report to Oakville Town Council estimates the cost to save the ash trees will be about$28 million a year for the next six years with ongoing expenses to last for 10 to 15 years

Treatment is an approach McNeil took from Milwaukee which he says is being scientificand innovative in its approach to dealing with the pest The Wisconsin city is treating 100per cent of its 28000 trees

He is also taking a leaf from Milwaukeersquos communication strategy which uses social mediaadvertising and radio broadcasts

ldquoThe simple answer is that this is a priority for our councilrdquo he said ldquoOur community has along-standing commitment to the urban forest Any threat to the canopy is taken seriouslyrdquo

This may come in handy again Another budding tree trouble is the Asian longhorned

beetle which affects Acer trees better known as maples which make up 40 per cent of thetownrsquos canopy If that beetle becomes a threat later the town will be ready

Meanwhile McNeil says the town is becoming a model for other municipalities ldquoOakville isdoing a phenomenal jobrdquo said Allison Barr of the Canadian Food Inspection AgencyldquoAwareness and education is everythingrdquo

It can be hard to care until you picture your favourite park mdash or golf course as Barr toldone councillor mdash devoid of trees On the other hand there is no need to press the panicbutton when a tree becomes infected With treatment the tree could survive another 10years

Mus t Rea d sMus t Re ads

F o o F ig h te r s Dead m au 5 t ak e o n

t h e e l e m en t sC an ad ian s aw ash in d eb t s t u d y

f inds

B u y C o l in F i r t h rsquos su i t an d h e rsquo l l t e l l

y o u a l l ab o u t i t

D espe ra t e H o u sew iv es co m in g t o

end

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S

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H o w t o b e atin te rn a t io n a lr o a m i n g c h a rg e s

T h e w o r l d s m o s tex p en s iv e f en d e r b e n d e r

F un s t u f f t o d o w i t ht h e k i d s t h i s w e e k

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Toronto announced in June that its policy would focus on tree removal and replacementrather than treatment meaning the city would lose about 860000 ash trees Some 450ldquohigh-valuerdquo trees are being treated with TreeAzin at about $140 per dose

Ash trees were planted to replace the elms that succumbed to Dutch elm disease in the1960s Now that they too are dying itrsquos clear that biodiversity is key to replacing diseasedtrees said Barr

The borer is No 9 on Time Magazinersquos ldquoTop 10 evil animalsrdquo list and has destroyed 60million trees in the United States

One approach being tried south of the border is launching exotic predatory wasps that arethe beetlersquos natural predators in its original territory in Asia Canada is not using thismethod but is researching the use of native wasps as bio-surveillance to more accuratelydetect the presence of an ash borer infection

Itrsquos all part of the systematic approach McNeil believes can save Oakvillersquos urban forest Hepushed to get the town involved in a University of Toronto research project in 2009 thatlooked at branch sampling as a way to detect the beetlersquos spread

The town has placed more than 100 neon-green traps in trees to track the spread of theinsect plague mdash another factor residents can monitor online If a cure for the emerald borerdoes arrive Oakville will be in the best possible position to adopt it

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www thestar comnewsarticle1036438 oakville refuses to cave to emerald menace[882011 95131 PM]

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But in Oakville hope springs eternal

One in 10 of the townrsquos trees are ash mdash roughly 180000 This year the town councilapproved a multi-layered plan to use pesticides to treat about 7000 trees on publicproperty

But the town isnrsquot stopping there Part of its forestry services action plan is a ldquoCanopy Clubrdquothat encourages residents to work at saving ash trees on private property using FacebookTwitter and community events Therersquos even an emerald ash borer mascot

The town has created two detailed videos explaining how the beautiful green beetlessystematically destroy a tree John McNeil manager of forestry services graphicallydescribes the borer larvae eating through the treersquos nutrient delivery system as theequivalent of cutting through human veins and arteries

The videos also explain the treatment process mdash injecting the tree biannually with TreeAzina pesticide developed by BioForest Technologies and the Canadian Forest Service Thetreatment doesnrsquot cure an infected tree but if repeated every two years it can stave offdeath

A series of interactive maps on the townrsquos website make it easy to find the 80 per cent ofsalvageable trees growing on private property

The town mapped its ash trees through hyperspectral analysis mdash a process that involvedflying over Oakville with a specialized camera capable of detecting ash trees The mapsmake it easy for residents to see whether they live in an area with ash trees Trees aretagged with a GIS system so residents can see whether their favourite ash tree is beingtreated as well as the height and diameter of the tree

Itrsquos not a cheap investment said McNeil The hyperspectral mapping cost around $175000A report to Oakville Town Council estimates the cost to save the ash trees will be about$28 million a year for the next six years with ongoing expenses to last for 10 to 15 years

Treatment is an approach McNeil took from Milwaukee which he says is being scientificand innovative in its approach to dealing with the pest The Wisconsin city is treating 100per cent of its 28000 trees

He is also taking a leaf from Milwaukeersquos communication strategy which uses social mediaadvertising and radio broadcasts

ldquoThe simple answer is that this is a priority for our councilrdquo he said ldquoOur community has along-standing commitment to the urban forest Any threat to the canopy is taken seriouslyrdquo

This may come in handy again Another budding tree trouble is the Asian longhorned

beetle which affects Acer trees better known as maples which make up 40 per cent of thetownrsquos canopy If that beetle becomes a threat later the town will be ready

Meanwhile McNeil says the town is becoming a model for other municipalities ldquoOakville isdoing a phenomenal jobrdquo said Allison Barr of the Canadian Food Inspection AgencyldquoAwareness and education is everythingrdquo

It can be hard to care until you picture your favourite park mdash or golf course as Barr toldone councillor mdash devoid of trees On the other hand there is no need to press the panicbutton when a tree becomes infected With treatment the tree could survive another 10years

Mus t Rea d sMus t Re ads

F o o F ig h te r s Dead m au 5 t ak e o n

t h e e l e m en t sC an ad ian s aw ash in d eb t s t u d y

f inds

B u y C o l in F i r t h rsquos su i t an d h e rsquo l l t e l l

y o u a l l ab o u t i t

D espe ra t e H o u sew iv es co m in g t o

end

W h en a d ee r m ee t s a M in i C o o per

S

Fol lo w T he To r o n to S t a r Fol l ow T he To r onto S t a r

Facebook Twitter RSS NewsAlerts

Mobile Subscribe

M a k i n g N ew sM a k i n g N ew s

At w o o d v s Fo rdCanadian literary icon MargaretAtwood has joined

South SudanThe latest news and views onSouth Sudan which

News o f t he Wor l dThe News of the World willpublish its last

See for Yourse l f raquoSee for Yourse l f raquo

Syrian unrest

Rid ing a doub le-d e c k e r

Pho tos S tar ingi n t o t h e f a c e o f K h o n

A t t e m p t i n g t ob r e ak s w i m m i n greco rd




























t h e s t a r c o m

Corrections

Contact Webmaster

FAQ

Site Map

Tor on to S t a r

About

Atkinson Principles


Subscribe


Contact Us

News Releases



Media Kit

Online Advertising

Print Advertising

Special Sections


Santa Claus Fund

Fresh Air Fund

Speakers Bureau


Community Giving

Sta y up t o da t e






























t h e s t a r c o m

Corrections

Contact Webmaster

FAQ

Site Map

Tor on to S t a r

About

Atkinson Principles


Subscribe


Contact Us

News Releases



Media Kit

Online Advertising

Print Advertising

Special Sections


Santa Claus Fund

Fresh Air Fund

Speakers Bureau


Community Giving

Sta y up t o da t e



toronto news_ oakville refuses to cave to emerald menace - thestar

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