Emerald Ash Borer Program Continuing In Whitefish Bay

WHITEFISH BAY, WI — You may soon be seeing some trees around Whitefish Bay marked with either pink or green dots as part of the Village's emerald ash borer program, the village announced in a newsletter Monday.

The markings are a continuation of a program that since 2011 has been working to reduce the village's population of ash trees. The emerald ash borer, a beetle native to Asia, can embed in the trees and can pose difficulties for them in transporting water and nutrients.

If you see a tree marked with a pink dot, it means that the tree is set to be removed and replaced with a new tree as part of the village's EAB initiative. This typically comes when trees are showing symptoms of EAB, the village newsletter says.

Trees marked with a green dot have been treated for emerald ash borer through an injection process, often completed every other year. The process has a success rate of over 95 percent in protecting ash trees, the village newsletter says.

The Village's program of treating ash trees and culling them to a more manageable population was already underway when the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection had confirmed the presence of EAB in Whitefish Bay in 2017, the newsletter says.

The trees are being treated or removed to bring the total ash population in the village down to 20 percent of street trees. They're being replaced with State Street Maple, Swamp white Oak, Golden Glory Dogwood and New Horizon Elm Trees, the newsletter said.

In 2011, ash trees made up 47 percent of the village's street trees. Currently, they make up 24.8 percent. The target population is set to be reached by the end of 2027.