ST. PETER — It’s been a problem plaguing the Midwest for almost 20 years now: emerald ash borer.
St. Peter City Forester Jacob Burbach says that the city has been aware of the dangers the bug presents to local trees, and that they’ve been proactive in their removal of trees.
“The bug is not selective. It will eat a young one ash to an old ash, a big, healthy, one, all the way down,” he said. “So even though the tree may not show some of the signs (of infection), it is going to unfortunately die.”
Burbach says treatments for emerald ash borer are expensive, often more expensive than simply removing the trees, and they need routine treatment every one to two years.
With over 1,00 ash trees at the start of their removal project, and around 500 or 600 in the city now, Burbach says that St. Peter doesn’t just want to get rid of the trees, but rather, replace them and bring even more species of foliage to the city.
In order to do that, they’ve pledge to replace each tree they remove by planting two trees somewhere in the city. That process can get pricey, however. Thankfully, the city has been able to rely on grants from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources to balance the books.
“It’s very expensive to get all these trees removed and hazardous for us to do it ourselves,” Burbach said. “(So the DNR gives) us the money and we run through contractors.”
On Monday, the DNR announced that St. Peter had received $300,000 through their community forestry grant to continue this tree project. That money will last through the end of this year and into 2027, and to continue the project, Burbach says the city has already applied for another grant.
Having removed around 250 trees this winter, planting the replacements began this spring on Arbor Day, with the city focusing on Broadway and Washington first, as those are the busiest streets.
Burbach says, since April, the city has been hard at work planting around 320 trees. Of those trees, the most common varieties include “spring snow” crabapple, London plane, quaking aspen and northern red oak trees. In all, there will be 26 different species, 10 of which are native to the state.
It’s projects like these the DNR says they want to support to bring more vibrancy to local communities.
“Trees make our cities and towns better places to live by helping reduce our electric bills, stormwater runoff and stress. Every community, regardless of size and demographics, deserves and benefits from a resilient tree canopy,” Madisson Masucci, DNR’s urban and community forestry coordinator, said in the press release announcing the grant funding. “With this round of funding, more than 6,000 trees will be planted or replaced in communities throughout Minnesota.”