HomeMy WebLinkAbout1976 08-04 Diseased tress burden cities, residents, wallets THE REVIEW Diseased trees burden
CI residents , wallets
4/ ,ic-First,the leaves start to wilt.In color, vessels or,in human terms,arteries and removal costs and the city will pay a like
they change from a healthy green to a veins, become clogged. "In effect, the amount.The GIA money is available only
light yellow,maybe even to dark brown. tree dies of thirst." for removal of trees of land in residential
Then,the leaves start to fall,as if the tree These inspectors, plus those in use,regardless of how the land is zoned.
believes it is now fall, when the world Maplewood, Oakdale and Little Canada The city officials generally say the
around it is still in summer. have found that the disease is increasing programs offered are the best possible.
Those are the signs of Dutch elm rapidly. Many diseased trees are found on city
disease, an epidemic destroying North St.Paul lost 90 trees in 1970.This property and the city must bear those
thousands of trees each year in this year,it is expected that Soo trees will be removal expenses. And, costs of ad-
country.Locally,it's costing cities and marked as suffering from Dutch elm ministering removal programs are great.
citizens time,money and grief. disease. In Maplewood, Bill Cass of the
Minnesota state law requires,basically, In Maplewood,1,260 trees were marked engineering department notes that city
that diseased trees be identified and for removal last year. costs for applying for and administering
removed within 20 days of that iden- Oakdale marked 112 trees in 1974 and the GIA program and the marking and
tification.The law also says that no dead expects to mark 340 this year. removal of trees last year totaled$10,273.
elm wood can be stored; it must be In Lake Elmo,this year's total should The costs may come back to residents
destroyed. hit 500. in terms of higher removal bills from city
Local officials agree the law makes Little Canada's inspector, Terry contractors or, as in Maplewood, ad-
sense and ideally would be followed Horwath,notes that 400.trees have been ditional costs charged and listed as
exactly.But, the disease and its rapid marked so far this year. 725 were "associated city costs."
spreading, operation and funding of discovered in just one large grove last That doesn't make the residents very
programs and the problems created for year. happy.
residents are also concerns.
THE DISEASE THE CITY PROGRAMS
Dutch elm disease is an infectuous Most of the cities operate some
fungus,spread from tree to tree in two Program for removal of trees.
ways, In North St. Paul, Maplewood, Lake
It may be transmitted from tree to tree Elmo and Oakdale,the basic approach is
in Minnesota by two beetles,the smaller to have the city's tree inspector,who may
European elm bark beetle or the native work on a part-time basis,inspect and
elm bark beetles.Theseinsects will create mark diseased trees.
a wound in the tree and will carry the The homeowner then has three choices.
fungus from one tree to another. He may remove the tree himself and haul
The disease may also be transmitted the wood to special tree disposal sites
from one tree to another by way of root (Maplewood and Oakdale have such
grafts.Trees within 50 feet of each other sites).He may hire a private contractor
often have roots which will grow together to remove the tree and dispose of it.Or he
under the soil and transmit the disease may ask the city contractor to remove
via this root system. and dispose of the tree.
Through these two methods,Dutch elm If the homeowner removes the tree
disease has reached epidemic proportions himself,he saves removal costs but still is
in Minnesota. assessed for loads left at the disposal
The five communities covered in a sites.Costs of hiring a private contractor
recent Review survey of programs or the city contractor to remove the tree
regarding Dutch elm disease all hire tree are much higher,
inspectors to check elms for possible If the city contractor does the job,most
affliction.North St.Paul inspector Steve communities will allow the resident to
Rossbach explained, "When I check a pay the bill in full,or to have the amount
tree,I check an area where the leaves are added on to property tax bills over a
wilting.I take a small twig or branch and period of several years.
peel back the bark."If brown streaks are In Maplewood,a special grants-in-aid
evident,the tree has Dutch elm. (GIA)program is operated in conjunction
Lake Elmo forester Gerald Beach with the state.In this program,the state
explains that in the disease the tree's will pay 25 percent(up to$250) of the
shade has helped cool the house.And it's
an expense."
Horwath of Little Canada notes the city
itself decided not to remove trees on its
property because costs for one year would
be$18,000. "Who has$18,000 extra for
taking trees out?" Horwath asked. He
noted many residents feel they same way.
"It may cost 5100 to remove a tree.That's
fine if you have$100 extra, but some
people don't."
He explained that this week he in-
spected trees on property owned by two
men,one 73 years old and the other 75
years old.Little Canada does not provide
the GIA program. "It's really hard on
people on fixed incomes,"Horwath said.
He pointed out that one tree in Little'
Canada has a 15 foot circumference.A
price list for removal list$335 as removal
costs for a tree with a circumference of
100 inches less than that. "That means
removal of this one tree is going to cost
THE RESIDENTS'FEELINGS about$500,"Horwath explained."There
are a few others on the property so the ,
All five tree inspectors or program total bill for removal of these trees is
implementors who spoke with the $1,000, I'd say. And the owner doesn't
Review this week indicated removal of have the money."
trees places a financial burden on many Such costs often force owners into
people, particularly those on fixed in- removing the trees themselves.
comes.And,there are other problems as Cass of Maplewood notes the 20-day
well. requirement creates some problems in
"Most people hate to lose their trees," such cases. "From a practical point of
according to Rossbach of North St.Paul. view,it's difficult to get trees down in that
"Some of the older residents planted the amount of time."The area contractors
trees themselves.There is a sentimental are "over burdened with work," Cass
value.For others,the practical aspects said.
are important. They're going to lose Several inspectors said residents could
shade from their yard and maybe that better handle such removal if they could
merely take the trees out"as they get to
it."It was noted that many trees are not
removed in the 20-day time period."It's
just impossible to do,"according to one
inspector.
Availability of local disposal sites helps
residents by providing a means for
disposal of trees which have been
removed.In Maplewood,a charge of$2.50
is made for each load.A new site in Lake
Elmo has recently been approved and
plans may call for a nominal dumping
fee there.Oakdale's City Administrator
Dennis Zylla explains the city has a
dumping site.He said he did not want to
Continued on page 2
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BY THE TRUCKLOAD-Dutch elm disease is killing trees in the area by the thousands, said they
are being removed by the truckload,as evidenced by this load in North St.Paul.
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disclose the location "because then underway to test the most economical work."
everyone from everywhere will be here to _ way to render diseased trees as harmless, Cities instead are eyeing some
use it. It was set up for Oakdale including one method of poisoning the tree replanting programs. Rossbach said he
residents." so the bark falls off and the beetle hopes the city will next year allot$10,000
breeding grounds are destroyed."Then for replanting of 300 trees. Maplewood
THE FUTURE the homeowner can remove the tree at his soon will offer residents trees for
Looking ahead, there is little hope of leisure," Cass said. replanting,purchased in large quantities
arresting Dutch elm disease. The sole None of the communities surveyed is by the city at a savings and with those
hope seems to be in knowing the trees greatly concerned with methods of trying savings to be passed on to residents.
can't last forever and that one day,they'll to prevent spread of Dutch elm disease. Cass advised that program details
all be gone,along with the accompanying They acknowledge research and new would be announced in coming weeks,
removal headaches and financial worries. chemicals.Some use Vapam, a chemical with hopes to start replanting during the
Beach of Lake Elmo notes the problem to severe root grafts and hoepfully holt! ."ideal time"of the second or third week
has been increasing three-fold each year back spread of the disease that way. in October.
in that community, and "There appears Rossbach of North St. Paul feels that In replanting, the cities and their in-
to be little we can do collectively to stop new chemicals, including Lignisan, can spectors are urging variety. Plantings of
it." be used if homeowners desire. "I tell shade trees,ornamental trees and others
He added that Lake Elmo is directing them that right now the University of are being asked. As one inspector said,
more effort in control of oak wilt, which Minnesota is not recommending it for use "If we replace the elms with five or six
can be done, instead of spending time because there's no guarantee it will different trees,then this kind of epidemic
trying to control Dutch elm, considered work,"Rossbach said. "If they want use can't happen again. It may wipe out one-
something of a lost cause, to use chemicals,we try,but I always tell sixth or one-fifth of our trees.But it won't
In Maplewood, a program is currently them not to be disappointed if it doesn't he able to claim so many all at once."
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