THUNDER BAY – Finds of the emerald ash borer, which have killed millions of ash trees across the country, are increasing in Thunder Bay.
The city has identified close to 40 of the invasive beetles so far in 2020, staff revealed at an Aug. 10 city council meeting. That’s already nearly double the previous high of 24, recorded in 2018.
The numbers are on the rise again after a dip last year, when only five insects were found, largely in the Northwood area.
That was an anomaly caused by an extended cold spell that winter, the city believes. Forestry and horticulture supervisor Mike Dixon told councillors the city can’t rely on its climate to combat the pests.
“I would caution you against thinking the cold climate of northern Ontario is going to adversely impact the insect – Moscow has emerald ash borer, and it’s doing quite fine there,” he said.
The threat from the insects is serious enough the municipal government has budgeted $7 million over a decade to manage it, starting in 2017.
The emerald ash borer could destroy 26 per cent of the city’s total tree canopy in short order if left unchecked, Dixon said.
The city plans to gradually remove and replace 4,600 of its ash trees, while attempting to protect another 1,700 through treatment with a biopesticide.
It removed only 137 in 2019, but parks and open spaces manager Cory Halvorsen said $200,000 in unspent funds from the first three years of the emerald ash borer program would help ramp up removals in future.
