Lab tests have confirmed the Emerald Ash Borer has infested some Owen Sound Ash Trees.
Last week, officials from the City of Owen Sound and Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry sampled three boulevard ash trees in the 1000 block of 2nd Avenue East that were exhibiting symptoms and the results confirmed the samples are the larvae of the pest.
In 2014, the city proactively developed its Emerald Ash Borer Management Plan in response to the known advance of the pest from Southern Ontario.
The plan provides direction for a 10-year period and includes inoculating environmentally and culturally significant ash trees and strategic removal of trees that are not selected for protection. The plan includes a strategic direction for additional tree planting initiatives to preserve and replenish the urban canopy.
Signs of infection include crown defoliation, D shaped exit holes in the tree trunk and shoots growing at the base of the tree.
In 2015, the city completed a tree inventory of trees on city boulevards and parklands. Using the data collected the city is able to monitor significant, healthy ash trees, and initiate strategic removals of lower quality trees.
As a preventative measure, in 2016, the city initiated a bi-annual Emerald Ash Borer inoculation program on 85 selected trees distributed throughout the city’s park system and street trees. In 2018 the city added 20 trees to the program and inoculated 105 trees in August.
Signs of infection include crown defoliation, D shaped exit holes in the tree trunk and epicormic shoots growing at the base of the tree.
This is not the first detection of EAB in our area. It was confirmed in Meaford in 2013, and Georgian Bluffs in 2016. The current area regulated by the Canadian Food Inspection Area (CFIA) to prevent movement of certain wood products from a regulated area to a non-regulated area extends beyond the Bruce Peninsula.
This is the first confirmation of the presence of EAB within the city limits of Owen Sound.