Review Draft Emerald Ash Borer Management Plan

As the Board knows, the tree planting in North Commons was completed in Many of this year.  Those plantings were made possible through a Community Forest Bonding grant program.  One of the requirements of that program was to develop an Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) Management Plan to prepare communities for the inevitable arrival of EAB.  In 2010, a draft EAB Management Plan was prepared and reviewed by the EPB.  However, that document was never forwarded to City Council for consideration. 

Staff is now in the process of completing the various required components of the grant program and will be bringing forward the EAB Management Plan to City Council for consideration.  Since the time this plan was originally drafted, there are several new Board Members and thus, Staff wanted to review the document again with the Board so that all were familiar with its content.

The plan outlines various steps that the City will take to prepare itself and its residents for the eventual arrival of EAB.  Following is a summary of the steps outlined in the plan:

• Completing a tree inventory or street trees and trees in maintained park areas
• Ongoing education (already doing)
• Prohibit the planting of ash trees on public property (already doing)
• Discourage the use of ash trees in new development projects (already doing)
• Planting of new trees with a focus on species diversity and 'right tree right location' (already doing)
• Encourage property owners to monitor their ash trees for early signs of EAB (woodpecker damage, thinning canopy, epicormic branching etc.) and to notify either the City or the Arrest the Pest hotline with any potential concerns (already doing)

Staff would recommend that the Board once again review the draft EAB Management Plan and forward the EAB Management Plan to City Council for adoption.

Motion to recommend that the City Council adopt the Emerald Ash Borer Management Plan.