Dayton to begin cutting down ash trees near roads due to emerald ash borer

The City of Clayton’s Westbrook Park is full of felled ash trees that have been taken down recently. Diseased and dead ash trees are often removed before they fall in parks or public right of ways. TY GREENLEES / STAFF

The City of Clayton’s Westbrook Park is full of felled ash trees that have been taken down recently. Diseased and dead ash trees are often removed before they fall in parks or public right of ways. TY GREENLEES / STAFF

The City of Dayton has announced that it will begin cutting down ash trees standing near the road or “in the public right of way” due to concerns that the trees may be killed by the ongoing emerald ash borer infestation.

>>PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Ash borer claiming up to 200 trees in Clayton parks

Dayton said in the announcement on the city website that stumps would be removed and new trees planted when additional resources become available.

Residents that have already treated their trees for emerald ash borers are asked to call the City of Dayton Division of Street Maintenance at 937-333-6472 to tell them of the kind of treatment applied.

However, the city said that if it determines that the treatments failed and the tree will be a hazard, it will still remove it.

The emerald ash borer is an invasive beetle that feeds on the inner bark of ash trees, which can kill the tree. Since the beetle’s estimated arrival in North America in 2002, the Emerald Ash Borer Information Network reports that they have killed hundreds of millions of ash trees in North America, and as of October 2018 can be found in 35 states, largely in the eastern half of the United States.

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