02/26/2020 Environmental Board Minutes

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Enivonmental Board Minutes February 26, 2020 Page 2 DRAFT MINUTES Open Mike closed at 6:36 p.m. VI. ACTION ITEMS – No Action Items VII. DISCUSSION ITEMS A. EAB/Ash Removals Update Mr. Nelson mentioned the city response to EAB is to remove all boulevard ash trees, replacement of these trees with a diverse mix of species and the insecticide injections is to stagger the removal of trees over time. There are 21 boulevard Ash trees on Clearwater Creek Drive has begun. Replacement trees will be planted either this spring or fall, depending on plant availability. Mr. Schwartz asked what species of trees will be used to replace the Ash trees. Mr. Nelson stated that in this area the trees will be Honey Locust and Kentucky Coffee trees. The trees do not have pods. Mr. Nelson also wanted to comment on the question that Mr. Flower asked at the last meeting about having a company referral for the Ash tree injections. At this time most of the companies work with cities and give a bulk rate. So for residents they should go with a reputable company and studies show that injections instead of drenching gets better results. B. Heron Colony Work and February 28th Meeting On February 8th, six volunteers were out on Peltier Island for about three hours and did mostly repairing and replacing the metal flashing that is used to limit raccoon access to the young herons. An inventory of the rookery counted approximately 352 nests. Discussion at the February 28 meeting from 2 -3 pm will be to talk about the metal flashing – if it is hindering or hurting the trees. Questions that came up for discussion were  Is it just Ash trees that are dying Most of the trees that have heron nests are Ash trees and disease it is mostly  Were nest in trees that are not flashed There were nest in trees that are not flashed