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HomeMy WebLinkAboutOPD-006-15 Clarington Operations Report If this information is required in an alternate accessible format, please contact the Municipal Clerk at 905-623-3379 ext. 2102. Report To: General Purpose and Administration Committee Date of Meeting: Monday, June 8, 2015 Report Number: OPD-006-15S File Number: By-law Number: Report Subject: Emerald Ash Borer Recommendations: 1. That Report OPD-006-15 be received, Municipality of Clarington Report OPD-006-15 Page 2 Report Overview Emerald Ash Borer has behaved as a classic, albeit, worse case example of an invasive alien pest to this point. Many of the dire predictions made by scientists soon after its discovery in 2002 have proven very accurate and it is ranked as one of the worst pests ever introduced to this continent. It is serious because; Its cryptic nature and the fact that it spends much of its life cycle under the bark of its host tree does not readily permit early detection or easy control, both critical elements of a successful management program. There is scarcity of both native and introduced biological control organisms that have any effect on EAB, it may be many years (or never) before these effect a level of control that will save Ash trees. 1 . Background 1.1 Emerald Ash Borer Assuming that Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) continues to infest and kill trees at its present rate, it can be expected that EAB will kill most if not all the Ash trees in Clarington within 5-10 years. The major impacts on Clarington will be both aesthetic and environmental with significant economic consequences. EAB now generally infests much of Southern Ontario and is expanding to Northern Ontario and Quebec. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has amended the Ministerial order in force under the plant protection Act to include all new areas. There are three regulatory Authorities that have responsibilities for EAB: 1.) Canadian Food Inspection Agency. The CFIA has been designated Canada's official national plant protection (and quarantine) organization and is the lead agency in Canada with respect to developing regulatory policies for forest and agricultural pests of quarantine significance such as EAB. The CFIA is empowered under the Plant Protection Act and regulations which give it the authority to enact and enforce regulations and policies to protect Canada's agricultural and forestry production base, environmental and natural resources and to take all necessary actions to exclude, eradicate or otherwise manage invasive pests of quarantine significance. 2.) In Ontario, the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forests (MNRF) has taken a major, albeit non-regulatory role in combating EAB. Provincially enacted legislation is not permitted to contradict or limit federal legislation, Ontario has the Municipality of Clarington Report OPD-006-15 Page 3 authority to put in place laws to strengthen or augment federal acts and regulations where they see a need. 3.) Municipalities such as Clarington are responsible for managing their street trees, forests and greenspaces Hazard tree removal in urban areas is non-discretionary; dead trees pose a hazard and a legal liability and must be removed promptly. At present there are no federal, provincial of regional monies available for this, and many Municipalities will be severely impacted by EAB with the potential cost for tree removal alone running into the hundreds of millions of dollars over the next 10 years. To this end most major Municipalities have petitioned both the federal and provincial governments for additional funding to offset these costs. While tree removal would have a minimal impact with respect to reducing overall EAB populations in a broadly infested area, it can mitigate long term costs and liabilities associated with passive or reactive management strategies. Most Municipalities with an EAB management plan include proactive tree removal which results in considerable cost efficiencies as well as reducing the potential for hazards and liabilities. Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) Clarington update In the previous report to Council OPD-012-12 it was noted that the proposed EAB management plan elements included: 1) Staff continue to proactively monitor known Ash areas for possible infestations and respond to residents' concerns of possible EAB infestations 2) Staff to include an increase of$10,000 in the 2013 budget to deal with Ash tree removals, and replacements. 3) Staff, in conjunction with Purchasing, develop a list of tree companies with pricing for the treatment through pesticide injections to preserve high value Ash trees available to residents for private Ash trees 4) Develop a public awareness and education strategy to communicate information about EAB and treatment options for residents with Ash trees on private property with an estimated cost of$5,000 for print, website and newspaper articles. 5) That the Region of Durham be requested to develop a proper waste disposal program for EAB infested material because even when an infested tree has been cut down, EAB continues to live under the bark. Municipality of Clarington Report OPD-006-15 Page 4 6) That Council approve a comprehensive inventory of Clarington's publicly owned Urban and Park trees in the 2013 Budget. Findings from the inventory are as follows; a) Staff continued to monitor known Ash trees, and in the summer of 2013 the first confirmed EAB infested Ash tree was discovered in Courtice. In 2013, approx. 5 trees were removed and replaced. The Ice Storm at the end of 2013 caused the failure of approx. 250 Ash trees. Staff continued to receive resident's concerns of Ash in poor health or complete failures all through 2014, and approx. 75 more Ash removed. As of this date staff are monitoring numerous other concerns from residents and will be planning on removing an estimated 75-100 more EAB infested Ash in 2015. b) Staff did include $25,000 in the 2014 and 2015 budget to deal with EAB infested Ash trees. The funds allocated will be insufficient to not only remove EAB effected trees, but to proactively remove Ash trees on Municipal boulevards, green spaces, Parks and rural roads. We will be recommending in future budgets an increase in funds allocated due to the fact that we expect the cost will be in excess of$500,000 over the next 3 years c) Staff in conjunction with Purchasing have developed a list of companies available to residents. d) A brochure has been developed and is available in Print and on the website for residents. (Attachment #2) e) The Region has this request, but has not developed a proper wood waste disposal site. f) As stated previously a comprehensive inventory of urban boulevard trees has been done, and will be updated and maintained as resources become available. According to the 2012 inventory Clarington had approx. 2500 Ash trees on Municipal boulevards. A conservative estimate is that another 500-1000 Ash trees are located in Clarington's Parks, Green spaces and rural roads. Based on EAB infestations in other Ontario Municipalities it is known that EAB populations increase exponentially after the third year which will be in 2015 for Clarington. As previously noted staff are recommending a proactive approach to EAB Ash tree management by removing and replacing Ash before they fail and will be requesting appropriate financing over the next 3 years. Municipality of Clarington Report OPD-006-15 Page 5 2. Conclusion While resource constraints invariably restrict the ability of Clarington to ensure the safety of all trees, the development and implementation of a realistic EAB risk management strategy is becoming increasingly recognized as a necessity because; • For certain, service requests will continue to rise as EAB ash mortality grows in numbers • Research is showing that Ash trees that die as a result of EAB infestation are extremely dry and brittle and require removal after death to avoid the risk of failure • Based on current EAB outbreak staff are expecting an over expenditure of current allocated funds 3. Concurrence • This report has been reviewed by Lori Gordon, Deputy Treasurer who concurs with the recommendations. 4. Recommendations • This report is for the information of Council and the request for additional funding will be referred to future budget deliberations. 5. Strategic Plan Application The recommendations contained in this report conform to the Strategic Plan. A/ � Submitted by: Reviewed by: Fred i _ ,:-Horvath anklin Wu, B.A., D.M.R., R.R.F.A Chief Administrative Officer Director of Operations Staff Contact: Robert Genosko, 905-263-2291 ext. 531 There are no interested parties to be notified of Council's decision. FJH/RG/sh Municipality of Clarington Report OPD-006-15 Page 6 Attachments: Attachment 1 — Clarington Tree Inventory 2012 Attachment 2 — Residents Guide to Emerald Ash Borer Attachment#1 To Report OPD-006-15 Clarington Tree Inventory 2012 d U D o o m E c 0 2 ti OS V _ m to Y Z O tan F ib Ash 1126 10741 237 29 01 1 7 0 01 4 81 9 ol 2466 Beech 25 2 0 0 0 0 01 0 0 0 01 D 01 27 Birch 25 1 2 6 0 0 2 0 1 0 2 0 1 34 Catalpa 2 0 0 0 d 0 0 0 0 D 0 0 0 2 Cedar 8 4 1 13 0 0 7 0 1 2 3 0 0 26 Crabapple 88 20 52 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 163 Dogwood 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 01 G 3 0 01 3 Eastern Redbud 0 1 0 D 0 0 G 0 0 0 d 0 01 1 Elm 89 83 6 0 0 0 G 0 0 0 01 0 0 178 Fir 27 3 2 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 35 Ginkgo 141 96 42 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 280 Hackberry 99 87 19 - 0 0 0 0 0 5 0 0 0 210 Honey Locust 463 387 127 19 D 0 1 2 0 D 16 0 0 996 Horse Chestnut 29 7 11 8 0 0 3 1 2 0 2 0 0 55 Ironwood 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 Dory Silk Lilac 237 237 41 6 0 0 0 0 d 1 5 0 0 521 Kentucky Coffee 35 3 8 0 00 01 0 0 0 01 0 01 46 Larch 3 0 0 0 0 0 01 0 0 0 0 0 0 3' Linden 1163 1012 338 25 0 0 0 0 0 11 14 0 0 2538 Maple 3946 2808 958 313 3 57 55 4 8 34 107 35 10 8025 Mountain Ash 178 40 25 2 0 1 d 0 0 0 1 0 0 245 Oak 641 334 78 7 0 0 2 0 0 5 0 0 ol 1060 {Ohio Buckeye 59 0 23 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 01 82 Ornamental Pear 317 56 46 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 01 419 Pine 10 11 0 9 0 d 0 1 1 2 0 01 30 Poplar 3 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 d 0 0 0 D 5 Serviceberry 113 67 22 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 9 0 0 211 Spruce 102 81 7 33 0 4 5 1 0 2 20 1 0 223 Sycamore 3 1 1 0 0 0 G 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 Tuliptree 1 5 0 01 0 0 0 0 0 0 01 0 01 6 Walnut 0 3 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 9 Willow 7 D 1 0 0 0 0 D 0 0 0 0 0 8 Total 89411 6423 2055 494 31 68 82 81 141 68 195 45 11 17913 Attachment#2 To Report OPD-006-15 Ash Trees Residents guide For more information: Ash Trees can gro•-1, to 30 m in height and are a common species in the urban Please visit: Emerald forest. Ash have a compound leaf 13 to www,eonf,on,caleab 30 cm in length. A www.mnr.gov.on.ca compound leaf has Borer more than one leaflet www.isaontario.com on its stalk base. Ash www.insoection.gc.ca trees have five to nine a- leaflets per leaf de- pending on the species. For information on tree injection please Ash have a characteristic pattern of contact one of the following companies: , 4 branches that is similar to the maple tree Asplundh Canada ULC with tv.,igs that emerge from the branch opposite to one another. Most other tree 613 55-0070 species in Ontario have an alternate pat- tern of branches. Davey Tree Expert Co. .t I The bark on young 905-304-7359 ext 2022 trees and younger ` branches tends to be Greenlawn Limited j smooth and grey alt- 905-433-0099 ext 235 hough it sometimes y appears reddish on some species. Over Treescape Certified Arborists time, the bark be- 705-745-1803 p. 1 comes rougher, forming ridges and furro..s. Some older ash trees have a characteristic diamond patter to their bark. EAB only kills AdAu Municipality of Clarington ash. no other Operations Department trees. Mountain 905-263-2291 -ash is not a '� true ash and is not affected. ofj4 (Leadim, tht ttrry What is the Emerald Ash Borer Signs of EAB Symptoms of EAB • Suckering from the base "D" Shaped exit and stem hole j le _ r ► The Emerald Ash Borer is a small - metallic green wood-boring beetle ''! • Excessive about 8.5 to 14.0 mm long and 3.1 to woodpecker ac- 3A mm wide that attacks all native tivity. Wood- species of ash tree. typically killing 1a peckers go after Beetle larva bore tunnels under the the larve, and bark to feed on inner bark tissue drill small holes t r (cambium). The tunnels cut the flow .. to fish out the of nutrients and water to leaves. caus- �_ _�'' larva after they ing the tree to die. scrape the bark Now `IS" galleries under the bark • Dieback in the Effects of EAB Good examples of"s" galleries—note larva canopy at the right end of the tunnel and "D" As the Emerald Ash Borer establishes - ash trees being to die. + Once a tree is infected, it generally takes a couple of years for the popula- tion of EAB to build and symptoms to appear. -� T Note dead crowns and sprouts from trunk-two symptoms