Beacon Hill North Community Association

Tuesday June 29, 2010
Now it is OUR turn as a community

Monday November 16, 2009
COLONEL BY UPDATE

Sunday November 8, 2009
URGENT ACTION REQUIRED : Colonel By Counts but needs your help NOW !!!!

Costly defence against invasive insect

Beacon Hill North is ramping up to protect its trees against the onslaught of the emerald ash borer, but concerns about city-implemented removal costs have some residents worried.

The issue first arose at a public meeting several months back, when news of the insect was still relatively new to most, explains Tim Tierney, president of the Beacon Hill North Community Association (BHNCA). Since then, he continues, more than a dozen residents have contacted the BHNCA looking for information about the emerald ash borer (EAB), including photos and identifying details.

According to city information, the EAB is a highly-destructive, wood-boring beetle that feeds under the bark of ash trees. EAB has killed millions of ash trees in Ontario and throughout the United States, crossing the border since it was first discovered in Michigan in 2002.

In 2008, the insect was located around the St. Laurent Boulevard area, according to staff, specifically within a two-kilometre radius around Ogilvie Road and Labelle Street, bordering Blair Road in the east.

While there have been some cases reported in Beacon Hill North, Tierney says most residents are simply trying to err on the side of caution and remove their trees proactively. That leads, however, to the bigger issue plaguing area residents – concerns about the price tag of chopping down their trees, he explains, especially if the city enforces cutting of infected or targeted vegetation.

“Beacon Hill North has a large number of ash trees, some properties having four to five ash trees,” Tierney recounts, pointing to the estimated cost of $1,000 to remove a mature tree. “(That) could be difficult for people if they have to remove the trees quickly.”

Though the city is doing its part by explaining they will offer replacement seedlings if trees are requested to be cut, supplementing removal costs may also be needed, he suggests, especially for area seniors.

So far at the municipal level, this past spring the city planted 500 trees around major arterial roads and in city parks in response to EAB concerns, placing them next to existing trees that will eventually be lost to the bug, while the federal government – via the Canadian Food Inspection Agency – stepped in to quarantine firewood, wood chips and ash logs or trees within the National Capital Region.

Residents can lend a hand by planting new trees and not transporting wood or leaf matter, city staffers suggest, as well as keeping an eye out for EAB on their own property.

For his part, Tierney says he has encouraged Beacon Hill-Cyrville Coun. Michel Bellemare to funnel some of his office budget towards spreading the word on the insect, while the BHNCA will have additional information available at their annual general meeting in October on EAB identification and finding cost-effective companies who provide group discounts for tree removal.

“The association will be following the issue making sure property owners and the city can find a reasonable solution,” he adds.