Potentially, the damage caused to our community forests could rival any forest pest that Iowa has seen in the past including Dutch elm disease. Ash trees are a common and important component of Iowa's urban and community forests. Current street tree inventories have found communities are, on average, 17% ash with some communities in excess of 50% ash. Keep in mind, these are street trees. Take a moment and think of all the ash in your yard, parks, and woodlands.
EAB will eventually make it to every community in Iowa. However, with proper management practices many communities should prepare well in advance for the arrival of EAB and reduce the overall costs. There isn't any government funding source to pay local costs for EAB management. For these reasons, municipalities and homeowners are strongly advised to actively prepare for the insect's arrival, including development of a funded management plan. The average homeowner with a 30 inch diameter tree can expect to pay an average of $1,200.00 to remove the tree, $150.00 to replace the tree, or an annual insecticide treatment cost averaging $375.00 per year for the rest of the tree's life.
To confirm a pesticide applicator's license check out this list managed by the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship
To confirm a certified arborist check out this list managed by International Society of Arboriculture
For Communities, a very important aspect of planning is determining how infested wood will be handled when EAB arrives, keeping in mind that quarantines will restrict its movement. Who will cut and haul the dead and dying trees? Is there an accessible, secured site big enough to store and sort hundreds to thousands of trees and the associated brush and chips? How will wood be disposed of or utilized? Do you have equipment capable of handling the amount and size of ash trees your tree inventory has identified? Disposal costs can be reduced with advance planning. Don't wait until EAB arrives to investigate options!
Below is a link to the webpage with information about community tree inventories. This page includes links to all the management plans the DNR has helped Iowa communities create.
Community Tree Inventories and Plans
Below are some homeowner outreach materials for communities to use to help educate their citizens.
Size: 4.25" x 11" Door Hanger
Paper Stock: 100lb Gloss Cover or 12pt Card Stock (must be recycled content meeting EPA standards)
Color: Full 4 color Printing Front (optional back)
Coating: Aqueous r, or UV, UV1 on Card Stock
Cutting: Standard diecut to accommodate most doors
Size: 8 1/2 x 3 1/2 (roughly)
Paper Stock: 80lb text (must be recycled content meeting EPA standards)
For urban forestry help please contact:
State Urban Forester, Forestry Bureau
Iowa Department of Natural Resources
502 East 9th Street
Des Moines, IA 50319