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<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />Emerald Ash Borer Management Plan <br />City of St. Anthony Village, MN <br />WSB Project No. 022315-000 Page 3 <br />systematic approach helps distribute the impacts and ensures an orderly response <br />while maintaining as many tree benefits as possible for the community. <br /> <br />Map 2: Status of EAB in Minnesota According to the MN <br />Department of Agriculture <br /> <br />*Green indicates generally infested, red shows quarantined counties <br />EAB was first detected in Minnesota in 2009 within the City of St. Paul. Fourteen <br />years since the first detection in the state, it has reached a critical state in the Twin <br />Cities metropolitan area. The insect tends to follow an exponential curve; as the <br />beetle population increases, ash tree death also accelerates. Beyond existing as a <br />threat to forest health and canopy cover, emerald ash borer creates a significant <br />public safety issue. The insect damage accelerates the wood drying that would <br />normally happen as a tree dies, and due to the wood properties of ash, the infested <br />trees become extremely brittle. <br />As trees become more dangerous to remove, there are fewer options for safe <br />removal by appropriately trained staff and contractors. This is a relevant issue for <br />private property tree owners in addition to the City. There is a direct relationship <br />between the risk associated with removing a tree and the cost when contractors are <br />hired to remove an infested tree. As the EAB population builds in a community, tree <br />death increases and accelerates, often referred to as the “death curve” because it is <br />an exponential relationship. Although it is not currently possible to eradicate EAB <br />once found, there are research-based control measures that can slow and flatten out <br />the “curve” to spread tree losses and costs over time, which will be proposed for <br />implementation in the plan.