Large ash selected for removal prior to showing obvious symptoms or signs of infestation.
be managed on an ecosystem level. This explains our current initiatives to try and obtain coordinated support from senior levels of government as well as hosting a regional level EAB task force.
Implementation of the Plan began in 2009. Town Council approved $250,000 for a Town tree inventory, Phase One, which would add the 13,800 ash street and park trees into a tree layer on the corporate GIS linked to Forestry’s CityWorks asset management system. Council also approved $50,000 for Phase Two: TreeAzin treatments and Phase Three: $100,000 to begin under- planting part of the ash canopy.
Throughout 2009, as Forestry staff began to notice changes in the ash canopy over parts of Oakville, I braced for the public outcry that never came.
In early 2010, BioForest staff introduced us to Canadian Forest Service (CFS) Researcher Dr. Ryall who needed a location to further test a new EAB early warning sys- tem; we jumped at the chance to partner with CFS. By spring, Oakville was the first municipality in Canada to
www.urban-forestry.com
This tree in Cook County, Illinois, showed no EAB signs as late as August 2008 but was completely dead by the winter of 2009. Photo by Mike Moore
complete a community-wide EAB distribution map using a combination of our staff arborists and assistance from contractors.
The distribution map showed that we had only one EAB epicenter—which was a relief—but I was surprised by the widespread distribution of the previously undetect- able low level distribution of EAB population. Our hard work was beginning to show promise. The combination of this project, our Inventory Project, our 2005 UFORE Project and the pest management decision support system of BioForest made me feel, for the first time, confident about the future with EAB. In my opinion, those municipal urban forest managers who are either using an out-of-date method or no systematic method to map EAB in their community need to stop wasting time; adopt the Ryall method.
Our improving understanding of the biology of EAB motivated us to follow up on BioForest’s recommenda- tion to inventory private ash trees (representing 57%
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