Memorandum

City of Lawrence

Parks & Recreation Department

TO:	Diane Stoddard, Interim City Manager
CC:	Casey Toomay, Assistant City Manager
FROM:	Ernie Shaw, Interim Director, Parks & Recreation Mark Hecker, Assistant Director, Parks & Recreation
DATE:	November 18, 2015
RE:	Emerald Ash Borer – Management Strategies

Please include the following item on the City Commission agenda as a City Managers Report item for the December 1st, 2015, meeting:

Issue Description

· October 8, 2015   The Kansas Department of Agriculture along with the U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed the presence of emerald ash borer in Douglas County, Kansas.

· Emerald Ash Borer (Agrilus planipennis) (EAB) is a small, invasive, exotic, Asian wood boring beetle that feeds on and kills all species of native North American Ash trees.  There is little resistance to the half-inch long, metallic green adult beetles that feeds on tree leaves, with larvae that feeds under the bark branches and eventually kills the entire tree.   EAB has killed tens of millions of ash trees in at least twenty five states.      

· Over the next six to eight years, thousands of local Ash trees will also die as the insect moves through native areas, parks, streets and back yards in Douglas County Kansas.   Dead Ash trees on city and private property will need strategic management to maximize public safety, while minimizing cost and liability.  

· Recommended strategies include removal options, chemical treatment of high value Ash trees, replanting and future maintenance and planning processes.   A 100% ash mortality rate (city wide) after 8 years is expected, due to exponential expansion rate of EAB population if no measures are taken.  Individual trees are damaged beyond recovery, potentially within 3-4 years of infestation. This is of concern to homeowners, policy makers and general citizens.  Losing the environmental, cultural and aesthetic benefits of Ash trees and associated costs to implement strategies will tally in the hundreds of thousands of dollars annually. 

Tree Estimated Numbers

· 14,000,000 - approximate number of all trees in Douglas County. It is estimated that 1.9% of these trees are Ash (USDA data) 

· 130,000 - approximate number of all trees in Lawrence, public and residential. (GIS data)

· 30,000 - approximate number of publicly owned and managed trees, all types, on right of ways and in parks in the City of Lawrence (GIS data).

· 3200 - estimated number of publicly owned and managed Ash trees on right of ways and in parks in the City of Lawrence. Tree Survey needs to be completed to get an accurate count.

· Unknown is the number of privately owned Ash trees in Lawrence and Douglas County that will need to be removed and disposed of.

Current Forestry Program

• City Forestry staff directly maintains an estimate of 30,000 public trees. The workgroup administers the following programs for public trees: tree planting and watering, tree safety inspections and related safety pruning for trees in city parks and ROW,  tree removals,  Integrated Pest Management, tree trimmer licenses,  tree related emergency and storm response, enforcement of tree protection codes, and review for city planning projects.   Staff includes 3 full-time employees (1 Forestry Field Supervisor, 2 Arborists), and 2-3 seasonal staff.  The Horticulture Manager oversees this staff and provides administrative oversight of many of the programs. With the current workload the City also contracts $30,000 -$50,000 annually with local tree companies to assist in removals. Due to the severe drought conditions in 2011-13 this staff has been managing significant dieback in many city owned trees ( maples, ash, elm, hackberry, oak) and continue to fall further behind in annual tree pruning. Additional resources will be needed to add the Ash Borer management program to their scope of work.

EAB Management Plan Highlights

• Early 2016 -Complete forestry inventory. The attached map shows the Downtown area of Lawrence that has had a forestry inventory completed. The blue dots indicate 455 Ash trees in this area that will be impacted by the Ash Borer. Currently only 25% of the City has been inventoried. This step needs to be completed to allow us to know how to best manage this forestry pest and others that may impact the urban forest in the future.
• Early 2016 – begin treatment of high value Ash trees to prevent infestation.
• Spring of 2016 - Commission will need to approve action items, and consider either increasing city staffing and/or providing funds for contract work for tree management, inventory, removal, replacement, chemical treatment, and forestry disposal options for  a minimum of 6-8 years.  See attached cost estimates
• Spring of 2016 – Determine the most appropriate forestry disposal options for the community is a key cost item. Do we utilize the local landfill, or will there need to be a separate facility opened and operated by the City to handle woody debris. The City’s current forestry/ yard waste recycling facility is not large enough to handle this volume that will be created by these tree removals. 
• Summer of 2016 – Begin removal of poor condition and low value ash trees.
• Summer of 2016 - Community outreach - as much education as possible to property owners, tree care companies, local governmental agencies and other shareholders.    

a. Action plan:   develop website, brochures, door hangers and training to educate public.  Update city code to include EAB as an invasive species, set up an abatement process for dead hazardous trees and sanitation on private property.   Provide funds for enforcement.

• Fall of 2016 – Begin accelerated tree planting program to replace Ash trees with preferred species of street trees.

• Early 2017 - Implement and fund full plan of action.