Janesville crews removing trees to beat back ash borer
To get free wood
City workers will notify residents by email when free wood is available from felled ash trees.
To register for email, go online to ci.janesville.wi.us/emaillists, enter your email, click “continue” and choose to join the “Firewood Interest” email list.
To get firewood, residents first must file a waiver of liability form at the leisure services office, 18 N. Jackson St.
As ash trees become available, staff will send an email with the location of the free trees. Wood will be provided on a first-come-first-served basis. Woodcutters will be responsible for cutting up tree trunks and must carry copies of their completed waiver of liability forms when obtaining firewood.
The wood should not be removed from Rock County.
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The city of Janesville has begun removing ash trees in public areas throughout the city. On Monday, eight trees were tagged and cut in Traxler Park and another five were downed in Upper Courthouse Park. The work is a response to the threat posed by the emerald ash borer, which was found on private property north of Janesville Craig High School in June. The city’s goal is to remove 100 ash trees this year from some parks and city-owned properties.
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Thomas R. Presny
JANESVILLE — Janesville city crews have begun removing ash trees before emerald ash borers can get them first.
The emerald ash borer was found in June on private property north of Craig High School. Experts suspect the insect has been in Janesville for at least three years, and they predict Janesville will lose most of its ash trees within the next five years.
The city’s goal is to remove 100 ash trees this year from some parks and city-owned properties so workers can develop a tree-removing process and practice on equipment, said Tom Presny, parks director. Residents will be able to remove the firewood for free, which will help reduce disposal costs.
“Our main focus is just to start the process of removing what will be 7,000 to 15,000 ash trees on parkland,” Presny said.
“One of the things we hope to do is educate ourselves on how much time it will take, (by doing it) a day here and there,” he said. “We’re not in the business. Once we remove these, we’ll be able to gauge what it’s going to cost to take down hundreds and then thousands.”
After ash trees are fully infested with the borer, the wood becomes brittle and smashes like glass upon removal, Presny said. Removing the trees proactively—before they are dead—is safer, more efficient and less expensive, he said.
Trees that are being felled are those that show signs of stress, are physically damaged or are growing in utility lines, Presny said.
“We do not know of any infected ash trees on parkland at this point,” Presny said.
Borers infect a tree from the top down over about three years.
Any infected wood found likely will be chipped, Presny said.
The council added $107,000 to the 2013 budget to begin dealing with the ash borer, including:
-- $25,000 to contract with a forestry consultant.
-- $38,000 for a four-employee tree-cutting crew to work 270 hours.
-- $14,000 to reimburse other city departments for equipment use.
-- $25,000 to match a $25,000 urban forestry grant to plant trees. The grant will be used to plant new trees and to chemically treat ash trees the city wants to save.
The new trees will be shade trees but none will be ash or maple trees, Presny said. Foresters consider Janesville to be over-populated with maple trees, and some predict maples will be the next victims of an insect or disease. About 65 percent of Janesville’s trees are maples.
Replacement trees could be oak, linden, honey locust and hybrid elms.
-- $5,000 for miscellaneous expenses.
Officials estimate Janesville has about 33,000 ash trees, including about 3,100 on street terraces, 15,000 on private property, 7,500 in parks and on city-owned land and 7,500 in undeveloped public areas. Removal of the latter trees will not have a high priority, Presny said.
Property owners are responsible for removing infected trees in their yards and on their terraces.
Mar 6, 2013 at 6:10 p.m.
Suggest removal
People with ash trees better start reading about what the EAB did to the trees east of wisc....
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A big ash tree costs alot to take down, a big DEAD ash tree costs 10x MORE $$$$$$
Mar 6, 2013 at 5:40 p.m.
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Shopierehuh, one of the running gags is that the (teenaged) characters react with nervous, intense laughter at any potential double entendre such as "free wood".
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oldtimer, elms rarely survive the disease but they may last years without being infected. Once they are ill they must be cut down for safety. I'm glad you still have elms -- we lost all of ours (and at one point a limb fell on our house).
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emo, the University Extension has a guide to homeowner treatment options.
http://hort.uwex.edu/articles/homeowner-...
Mar 6, 2013 at 4:49 p.m.
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Ok, janesvillean, I missed seeing that sidebar, no big deal and I'm glad that it is available to be used. Can you tell me what beavis and butthead have to do with this? Is that a tv show that you watch? I have never watched it.
Mar 6, 2013 at 9:51 a.m.
Suggest removal
any one know where i can get the chemical,it's gotta be less expensive then cutting down my tree. right?
Mar 6, 2013 at 9:21 a.m.
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Stupid. Years ago they were going to cut down all the elms because of Dutch elm diesse. We protested so they did not cut them down and they are still there and healthy What do they hope to accomplish?
Mar 6, 2013 at 7:47 a.m.
Suggest removal
Sigma, repeat after me.. " Do you want fries with that ? "...Duh !
Mar 6, 2013 at 7:31 a.m.
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One thing I dont understand is the $14,000.equipment rental from other departments.If the city OWNS the equipment why is this city crew paying to rent equipment from another city crew ?? Government math,somebodies pocket are getting lined!!!
Mar 6, 2013 at 1:56 a.m.
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Shopierehuh, look at the sidebar where it says "To get free wood". Then laugh maniacally as you recall Beavis and Butthead. ;-)
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Sigma40, the ash borer is 100% lethal to untreated trees. If you are not going to treat the trees, they are as good as dead when the bug gets here in numbers -- all you need to do is look where the beetle has been. The ash trees are gone. If they will all die, it doesn't matter when you start, and if you want practice you may as well start now. Or do you only go buy a shovel AFTER it snows? The way you approach problems, I wonder.
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I support the keeping of trees and treatment is certainly affordable in small numbers, and given the importance of these two parks I would have personally preferred that the city treat the limited inventory there and cut down trees elsewhere first. I don't believe in treating all the trees, though, and treating means a commitment to annual expenditure on that individual tree ... forever.
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I just wish the city had taken a more nuanced approach and realized that these trees being taken changes these highly visible landscapes quite drastically. Why not try to protect them as long as possible, while taking this aggressive approach where it won't be nearly the same visual shock?
Mar 5, 2013 at 11:28 p.m.
Suggest removal
Ash is a pretty decent firewood. It would seem that these healthy trees should be utilized for that purpose after being cut up. Perhaps sold cheaply or given away, at least the tree would not be totally wasted. The wood could be kept in the area and used in the area, eliminating any suspicion of spreading the insects by transportation of firewood. Four or five trees of the size in the photo would heat a home for a season.
Mar 5, 2013 at 9:14 p.m.
Suggest removal
I didn't know Janesville had so many skilled, educated, trained specialists such as arborists and horticulturists.
The treatments for Emerald Ash Borer have to be done every year. Some are toxic enough that only trained experts are able to do it. Other treatments can be done by homeowners, they also have to be done each year.
Now it is time to do the math. Janesville can't even afford to repair their streets, homeowners can't afford to install sidewalks, does anyone think that you can afford to or will treat a tree for (estimate $20-$100 per tree) per year for the next 50 to 100 years or more? Multiply that by 33,000 ash trees.
Mar 5, 2013 at 9:04 p.m.
Suggest removal
It's simple logic, but still unfortunate-- cutting down the trees before they are known to be infected. First, you thin out the trees to hopefully slow the spread. But, more importantly to the city is that you won't really know when it's infected until it's too late. And if it's too late as they stated in the article the tree is significantly weakened and could create a public safety issue.
Mar 5, 2013 at 8:41 p.m.
Suggest removal
So they are removing trees that the bugs "could" kill? ...about the dumbest logic ive seen yet. What threat is the bug if we have the city killing all the trees? Sounds like someone needed some money and a project to pin it on.
Mar 5, 2013 at 7:57 p.m.
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I can't believe that many trees will be cut down, especially when there is a way to "chemically" treat the trees.
Mar 5, 2013 at 7:17 p.m.
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proartist- It would certainly seem so, but logic has never been the strong suit of gov't.
Mar 5, 2013 at 4:51 p.m.
Suggest removal
If the City admits there is a preventative treatment ("The grant will be used to plant new trees and to chemically treat ash trees the city wants to save.") I suspect it could probably be far more cost effective than felling more of Janesville's trees. Proven, preventative treatment is simple, usually once-a-year application, and inexpensive compared to up-front and long-term costs - that sometimes go beyond money - of such destruction.
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