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Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) With Emerald Ash Borer moving heavily into the Lake Elmo area, Public Works is starting to remove dead and dying ash trees from public properties and road right of ways. Public Works will be prioritizing the removal of trees that are determined to be higher hazards on city property. Pink paint will mark dead and dying Ash trees that will be removed by Public Works Staff. With the number of infected ash trees in the city, we are not able to give a schedule of when we may be in your neighborhood to remove ash trees in the road right of way. Public Works staff will return to grind the stumps below grade, black dirt and seed the areas of the removed ash trees. The city will not be replacing trees that are removed. Property owners are welcome to replace trees but should follow the landscape plan for their development and choose trees that are approved. New planted trees should stay out of the road right of way (15 feet from the curb) as not to obstruct traffic lanes and create road way damage. Staff will start removing ash trees around public buildings, well houses, pavilions, near park amenities and trails. Next they will then start removing ash trees along the road ways and neighborhood streets. Typically the city’s road right of way extends roughly 15 feet behind the curb or road edge. Ash trees in this area will be investigated and measured before marked for removal. Ash tree removal on public property will likely extend over the next couple of years. The City is not responsible for removing trees on private property. Two links below are good sources to learn more about EAB: https://mntca.umn.edu/resources https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/.../terrestria.../eab/index.html Emerald Ash Borer Washington County will remove ash trees from Lake Elmo Park Reserve Washington County is continuing ash tree removal within Lake Elmo Park Reserve in response to the emerald ash borer. Starting Nov. 15 through March 31, 2024, ash trees will be removed near trails and in natural areas of the park. These removals will help minimize risk to the public from falling trees and will also reduce fuel loads that can increase fire risk within the park. To complete the work, a contractor will be using equipment to cut and haul the trees to staging areas, before chipping and removing debris from the site. Once work commences, ski trails on the south side of Lake Elmo and the snowmobile trail will be closed. Only ash trees will be removed, and new bareroot trees will be planted in suitable areas in the spring of 2024. See the county website at to view a map of ash trees. Green dots are trees to be removed, and purple dots are ash trees surveyed in summer of 2023. If time and weather conditions allow, staff will also remove dead or dying ash trees along the property boundaries. The Minnesota Department of Agriculture website has more information about the emerald ash borer at www.mda.state.mn.us/eab