For Greeley, it is a matter of when, not if, the invasive and destructive emerald ash borer (EAB) beetle makes it into the city’s urban forest.
Last year officials confirmed the presence of EAB near the Town of Berthoud in Larimer County — the pest has not been found in Greeley. However, that confirmation warns of the upcoming and unavoidable introduction of EAB to Greeley’s urban forest. When that happens, the infestation could adversely affect thousands of ash trees in the Greeley community — ash trees make up about 15 percent of Greeley’s forest.
City of Greeley officials began preparing for EAB in 2014. As a part of that management plan, staff worked to educate the public to identify and avoid bringing the beetle to the area.
Now as the next part of the City of Greeley’s Emerald Ash Borer Management Plan, officials launched the Residential Ash Treatment Program. This program provides a treatment option with potential cost savings for Greeley residents who own ash trees on their residential properties.
Simply put, residents can pay the City of Greeley to treat their ash trees and the city will hire a licensed pesticide applicator to provide preventative treatments.
Once city residents submit their application, a City of Greeley inspector will visit the applicant’s property and complete an assessment of any or all existing ash trees. The program will notify the applicant of the results — including measured tree sizes, tree conditions, and an estimated cost of tree treatment based on the size of the trees.
The more residents who participate in the program the better. A higher volume of participants will help city staff get a lower price for treatment services. Staff anticipate this program to save residents as much as 40% compared to pricing treatment services privately.
Other benefits offered by the program include:
- Avoiding expensive removal of trees not preventatively treated for EAB
- Protecting the long term benefits of trees
- Protecting the landscape value of property
- Prolonging shade on residents’ property
- Reducing the overall amount of ash trees that will need to be removed in Greeley once EAB infestation reaches here.
To sign up for the program, go to greeleygov.com/EABtreatment and then:
- Read the program rules and regulations
- Submit an application through the “Residential Ash Treatment Program” portal
- Get an initial inspection by the City of Greeley
- Receive a prompt for payment to the City of Greeley if your trees qualify
- All qualified properties will get scheduled for treatments
- Treatments will take place between June 15 and July 3
The cost of treatment through this program will depend on the total number of participants in a given year — if more residents participate in the program, individual costs will reduce considerably.
Please check for up to date information about this project at greeleygov.com/EABtreatment. For more information about this program, contact Forestry Manager Shiloh Hatcher at 970-339-2436 or shiloh.hatcher@greeleygov.com.