Emerald asshat borer, for such a pretty bug you sure are a jerk.

So, I was reading the little local community paper last night, and there was an article about the next phase of removing Ash trees in St. Paul that will likely die in the next few years due to the pretty, iridescent bug pictured below.  The article stated that one particular stretch of roadway would have a very large number of trees removed.

Well, this stretch of street is not the street that runs in front of my house (thankfully), but it is the street that runs the other way, only 1/2 block from my house.  So basically, when I walk out my front door, take a right, and go 1/2 block- there I am.  I can see this street from my front door, I walk along its shady boulevard nearly every day, and when I am driving home, turn the corner and see this beautiful canopy of 50-60+ foot green...well it always makes me happy:

If you look close, you can see that pretty much every tree pictured has a red ring painted on it.  That ring is the "red ring of doom" and it means that by the end of the day tomorrow, 42 of the 53 trees in a two-and-a-half block stretch will be gone.  FORTY TWO OUT OF FIFTY THREE IN A 2.5 BLOCK STRETCH, folks!!  There will be 11 trees left, half of which look to be no more than 5-8 years old.

There really isn't anyone to blame- I guess we could blame whoever planted these Ash trees many, many years ago for not considering the fact that planting such a large concentration of the same type of tree in one area could someday be a problem.  Obviously they never thought that a tiny beetle would come along and wipe out all of the greenery in one fell swoop.  Lesson to be learned: monocultures never work out so well- just ask many of the folks in the more rural parts of the deep South and their uncle-brothers.

There have been a lot of meetings, screaming and highly-charged debates all over the city about the sweeping removal of these trees.  This block pictured by my house is just one many streets that will virtually be stripped of 90-100% of their trees. Some people think that the uninfected trees should stay, and maybe they'll be spared.  I guess there is a chemical treatment that sometimes will prolong the life of the tree, but it's effectiveness is "meh" at best, from what I've read.

As much as I hate what it means, I'm on the side of the city with this one- they've been monitoring the Ash borer for years now, and they've been watching other cities that are having the same problem.  This isn't so much a problem of IF the trees will get infested, but WHEN.  And the city has made it very clear that they have the money right now to remove and replace the trees, but they may not have enough money in the future for anything beyond removing the affected trees- the stumps will sit, and the trees won't be replaced.
Sure, there may be a few trees here and there that would remain unaffected, but who is to know which ones until we're surrounded by dead or dying trees?  Personally, I'd rather see new trees get planted ASAP, so that maybe in ten or 15 years we'll at least have medium-sized trees and  tiny bit of shade again.  It's hard, though, and I never thought I'd be so emotionally affected by this topic.  Trees are a huge part of what makes a neighborhood "home".  My 'hood may be mostly blue-collar, mid-sized older homes, but it is a very nice 'hood just the same.  We are lucky to have a large number of huge, mature shade trees, and removing them will no doubt change the whole personality of the streets most affected.  Shade trees encourage walking and outdoor activity, which encourages people to interact.  People interacting creates a neighborhood, a community.  A strong community means more proactive citizens, lower crime, and better property values. 

But mostly I'm just really bummed today that we're losing so many trees in my neighborhood, dammit.

I swear, if no one had been looking I would have hugged each and every one of them.