The county’s proposed 2018 budget includes funds for proactive tree evaluation and removal at Ives Grove GC in Yorkville, Wis. and Browns Lake Golf Course in Burlington, Wis. “This is definitely an epidemic,” said the manager of Browns Lake GC, where 35 trees were removed last year and another 85 still need to be cut down. A similar infestation was reported at courses in the Rockford, Ill. area earlier this year.
The emerald ash borer has been killing trees by the hundreds in Racine County (Wis.) parks and golf courses, The Journal Times of Racine reported.
“Right now, the emerald ash borer is winning; we’re not,” said Julie Anderson, Director of Public Works and Development Services for the county. “But we’re trying to be proactive so when the tree does die that we’re not leaving dead timber standing 50 feet in the air.”
The emerald ash borer is a type of beetle that lays eggs in the bark of ash trees; its larvae then feed on the bark. C&RB reported earlier this year on a similar infestation affecting golf courses in the Rockford, Ill. area (http://clubandresortbusiness.com/2017/05/rockford-ill-courses-battle-emerald-ash-borer/) and in previous years on how the insect was killing trees at courses in Minnesota (http://clubandresortbusiness.com/2015/03/golf-courses-battle-beetles-arsenic/) and the Chicago, Ill. suburbs (http://clubandresortbusiness.com/2013/07/school-district-asked-to-help-with-course-tree-removal-costs/),
Racine County’s proposed 2018 budget includes funding to evaluate treatment and replacement of ash trees on county grounds by providing funds in the golf division budget and $20,000 for forestry contracts to help remove and replant trees, The Journal Times reported.
Two clubs in the country that have had issues with the emerald ash borer include Ives Grove Golf Course in Yorkville, Wis. and Browns Lake Golf Course in Burlington, Wis., The Journal Times reported.
“I know at Browns Lake, some of the fairways themselves are defined by rows of ash trees,” Anderson said. “Those trees became infected and several of those trees had to be removed.”
Chad Wilks, Vice President/Club Manager for H & H Fairway Enterprises, which manages Browns Lake Golf Course for the county, told The Journal Times that last year, about 35 trees were removed because of disease caused by the insects, and that currently another 85 more need to be cut down.
“I can’t remember the last time I lost a tree to disease,” Wilks said, referring to the days before the emerald ash borer infestation took hold. “This is definitely an epidemic as far as trees go.”
The loss of trees, Wilks added, amounts to roughly 10 to 15 percent of the total trees on the course. Browns Lake is now looking to replace the trees at a 3:1 or 2:1 ratio, The Journal Times reported.
“I don’t think we’ll go 1:1 replacement, because I don’t think it’s necessary,” Wilks said.
But the course will replace some trees that are useful for course play, The Journal Times reported.
“There are trees strategically placed on the golf course that catch errant golf balls, so we’ll look at replacing those first,” Wilks said.
If the trees weren’t dying or dead, Wilks added, he wouldn’t take them down. But the loss of trees has had some positive impact on the course, he acknowledged.
“[The county] took 30 down and I look at where they did that and I kind of like it,” he said. “It kind of looks nice.”
Anderson told The Journal Times that the funds being budgeted by the county to address the issue “is just going to get us enough trees to start some reforestation.”
“I don’t know what kind of tree types we’re going to pick out,” she added. “We’re working with people to make sure we’re getting hearty, fast-growing trees.”
Ash trees were planted on several county properties because they can withstand varying weather conditions, Anderson noted. “[They] were planted up and down the fairways at the golf courses, and then along came the emerald ash borer,” she said. “We’ve had quite a few trees that, not only have we taken down, but some we actually treated.”
It takes roughly two years for county officials to notice a tree is infested to the point of dying, Anderson said. “Taking trees down doesn’t really cost too much,” she told The Journal Times. “It’s more of an effort of conservation, to triage the trees so we didn’t have to cut so many down. We really didn’t want to just go and start clear-cutting.”
One of the county officials’ major concerns is the potential of dead trees falling on people or property. And aside from the golf courses, several county parks have trees infested with the emerald ash borer, The Journal Times reported.
“We’ve identified a few hundred trees in Pritchard Park,” Anderson said. “The public hasn’t complained to us at all; they understand because they’re suffering the same sorts of things on their properties.”
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