By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
WEST WINDSOR — With a $300,000 state grant in hand, West Windsor Township officials are gearing up to tackle the emerald ash borer — a pest that has moved across the United States, leaving dead ash trees in its wake.
The Shade Tree Committee and township Landscape Architect Daniel Dobromilsky outlined the plans to handle the beetle, which is threatening to kill 1,800 ash trees on public property. The goal is to remove 1,400 ash trees and replace them with a different variety of trees, and to save 400 ash trees by treating them.
The remove-and-replace program does not apply to ash trees on private property, such as a homeowner’s yard. It will be the responsibility of property owners to take care of the trees on their properties. They may call a certified arborist for advice.
The Shade Tree Committee has been aware of the emerald ash borer, which landed in Michigan in 2002, committee member Paul Pitluk told Township Council Monday night. Several millions of ash trees have died as the pest has moved east, he said.
The emerald ash borer is a beetle. The larvae feed and bore tunnel-like “galleries” underneath the bark of an ash tree, cutting off the circulation between the roots and the leaves of the tree. Eradicating the beetle is not practical.
Mr. Pitluk said the township has 1,800 ash trees that are considered public, or street, trees, and they are in jeopardy of dying. The Shade Tree Committee conducted an inventory of street trees and determined which trees would likely be affected by the pest. The trees are graded, and the ones that are obviously sick will be removed first.
The original estimate to remove the ash trees, grind up the stumps and replace them with different species of trees was about $508,000, Mr. Pitluk said. It would take about eight years to accomplish the removal and replacement of the trees.
But Mr. Dobromilsky applied for a state grant on behalf of the township, Mr. Pitluk said. The township received $300,000, which will be used to pay for replacement street trees, he said, adding that “we are saving a fortune” because of the grant. It will also cut the amount of time in half — to four years.
Mr. Dobromilsky said the 1,800 ash trees represent about 9 percent of the township’s total inventory of 20,000 street trees. The grant offers the township an opportunity to create more diversity among the street trees by planting different species.
“Look at it as an opportunity,” Mr. Dobromilsky said. Planting a variety of species of trees means that overall, the street trees will be less susceptible to a large problem such as the emerald ash borer, oak leaf scorch or other pests.
The emerald ash borer was discovered in West Windsor Township last summer, he said. While it is not noticeable now, the extent of the issue — dead trees — will become apparent in two or three years. There are about 50 dead ash trees now out of the 1,800 ash street trees, he said.
Council members Ayesha Hamilton and Peter Mendonez Jr. praised Mr. Dobromilsky and the Shade Tree Commission for its work.
“The emerald ash borer is a major problem. You have a plan to deal with it,” Council President Linda Geevers said.
