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New trees needed to replace dying ash

MetroParks combat invasive beetle with reforestation initiative.

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By Steve Bennish, Staff Writer Updated 7:57 AM Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Two large reforestation projects and a need to find replacements for ash trees killed by the emerald ash borer are driving Five Rivers MetroParks to plant 72,963 new trees this year, an all-time record for the parks agency.

More than 300 volunteers around the region have raised 8,000 trees and shrubs already. But conservation director Dave Nolin said more volunteers are needed and tree planting will start March 10 and continue on other Saturdays that month. Anyone can sign up to volunteer and plant a tree in a MetroPark or conservation area.

The larger projects will use contractors to plant trees on farmland at the Medlar Conservation Area in Miami Twp. and at the new Great Miami Wetland Mitigation Bank in Trotwood.

The 364-acre site in Trotwood at the southeastern end of Sycamore is being prepared by MetroParks for developers to purchase wetland creation credits. The credits satisfy a requirement of the federal Clean Water Act, which prohibits the destruction of lesser quality wetlands unless they are replaced by higher quality wetlands. The bank, the first of its kind in southwest Ohio, will receive 35,963 trees.

Medlar, which is open for hiking and wildlife watching, will receive 24,000 trees. Other locations getting trees are Carriage Hill, Germantown, Huffman, Possum Creek, Sugarcreek and Wesleyan MetroParks. Trees include hickory, white oak, pin oak, tulip tree, American elm, and flowering dogwood.

MetroParks is also managing another year of the “Forest Foster Family” program to grow more replacement trees. Volunteers receive a seedling kit with instructions that tell them how to grow trees at home in a protected flat.

MetroParks expects to lose tens of thousands of trees to the borer within four to five years, Nolin said. The emerald ash borer continues to spread throughout Ohio, destroying ash trees. Borers kill when their larvae eat under the tree’s bark, stopping the flow of nutrients. MetroParks has treated about 600 trees with a chemical insecticide to kill the larvae in a bid to keep the best specimen trees alive.

To register for the MetroParks Tree Corp., visit online: metroparks.org/forest to fill out a form, or telephone (937) 275-PARK.

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