Last year through Greeley’s new program, more than 200 privately owned trees got the treatment they need to survive the invasive and destructive emerald ash borer (EAB) beetle as it moves steadily closer to Greeley.
Greeley’s Residential Ash Treatment Program provides a treatment option with potential cost savings for Greeley residents who own ash trees on their residential properties. Residents have until May 1 to apply for the next cycle of this program.
In May of 2020, officials discovered the pest north of Fort Collins outside City Limits. In 2019 they confirmed the presence of EAB near the Town of Berthoud. To date, officials have not identified the pest in Greeley.
An EAB infestation could adversely affect thousands of ash trees in the Greeley community — ash trees make up about 15 percent of Greeley’s forest. The city owns about 5 percent of Greeley’s ash trees, the rest are privately owned and officials encourage property owners to consider preventative treatments.
“We certainly hope to increase treatment numbers,” said Greeley Forestry Manager Shiloh Hatcher.
Simply put, this program allows residents to 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.
Preventative treatments provide a low-cost solution to help protect trees and to reduce the impact to the community forest once the insect arrives in Greeley.
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 may be lowered.
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 970-351-5150 or shiloh.hatcher@greeleygov.com.