Sturtevant Looking for Help Protecting Ash Trees

Emerald. Ash. Borer. Three words that strike fear into the hearts of many because of how they can devastate a local tree population.

The Village of Sturtevant is no different, and officials there are looking for a cost-effective way to help prevent the spread of the pest.

"Now that it's in Racine County, we're really looking at our options," said Trustee Linda Busha, head of the Community Events, Beauification, and Cultural Committee. "The problem is that certifying to treat for the borer is proving more difficult than we thought."

Treatment includes injecting solutions to repel and kill the borer.

According the the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) website, a full 20 percent of most municipal trees are Ash, which makes addressing the situation imperative and time sensitive.

But according to both Busha and Chuck Stachowski, public works director, certifying requires some in-depth knowledge about chemistry and a test.

"This process is really designed for professional arborists and landscapers," Stachowski said. "It's a lot of information to absorb."

But contracting out with a tree care service is really expensive, too. Prices are based on hourly labor rates and treatment is calculated not just by the number of trees, but also by the circumference.

IV bottles of solution are hung from branches and needles are inserted into the tree to dispense the chemicals. Spring is the optimum time because sap is running up to the leaves so the village may have missed its prime opportunity this year.

"Doing something is better than doing nothing," Busha pointed out at a committee meeting earlier this month.

How big a tree is dictates how much solution is injected, Stachowski explained. Labor costs can add up quickly because crews can't move to the next tree until the bottles of solution are empty.

Busha is asking around to the Master Gardeners she knows and who care for the gardens around Sturtevant.

"Well, all we can do is ask," she said. "I hope we find a solution that doesn't cost a lot and helps the trees."

The DNR does have two purple trap boxes in the village; one in a tree just south of the railroad tracks on 90th Street and one in a tree at Fireman's Park on Charles Street.