Did anyone else hear this?
NPR did a story about an Asian beetle that is eating up all the Ash trees around certain cities in the upper Midwest. I wish I could have found the right pictures to go with this, but I struck out. Anyway, they found the Emerald Ash Borer in Wilmette, IL. I grew up driving down Lake Avenue in Wilmette day after day, and Lake Avenue is probably the prototypical "Tree Covered Lane." There are trees maybe every 30 feet or so and they all arch over the street making a perfect covered path. I always thought this was the coolest thing. Late in my high school career the Highland Park foresters planted trees on Summit Road, near my house, in the same manner. I always thought it was a shame that I would have moved away long before these trees looked like the ones in Wilmette.
I am really just hoping that neither the trees in Wilmette or the younger ones in Highland Park are ash.
That area already had a tree die off. Years ago they lost a whole slew of trees to Dutch Elm disease. They talk about that past in the NPR story. See it seems that after the Elms died many communities started aggressive replanting programs to build up their tree stock. Got any guesses as to the species they selected for the replacements?
Yup, Ash.
So everyone out there cross their fingers that we're able to solve this before they lose all their ash trees too.
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Tree Tragedy
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1 comment:
don't forget about all the trees we lost in the city to the asian longhorn beetle. My neighborhood, Ravenswood, lost most of its trees. It used to be lined with huge old trees--oak, ash, elm, maple, you name it. Now, there are maybe one or two old trees on a block, the rest are young trees, replanted after the beetle. It was so sad, and then it was just miserable in the summer without the shade! So stark and hot and nasty...I will be sad to lose any ash trees to this ash beetle, but it can't be any worse than the longhorn beetle. That thing ate any tree it came across.
Next time you're in town, drive through the Ravenswood, North Center neighborhoods and look at all the little trees. No more big trees. Sad. International air travel is a real bitch.
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