Protecting the Herd
Managing emerald ash borer at the community-level is not about saving every tree. Trees in natural areas and difficult-to-access areas may be challenging to treat, but many would be even more challenging to remove. A boulevard may have a dozen mature ash while a few acres of community forest may have hundreds of mature trees that would present a more costly and involved management process. However, experience from EAB-infested communities has shown that protecting the high value and easy-access trees has a positive effect on the entire local ash population by reducing the number of insects likely to spread to additional trees. Research has shown that even treating as few as 20% of the ash trees can significantly reduce the overall expected death rate of untreated ash trees (McCullough et al., 2012). Even small efforts will have an impact.
Credit: Rainbow Eco Science