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Emerald Ash Borer Management Plan City of St. Anthony Village, MN WSB Project No. 022315-000 Page 16 8.3.1 Proactive Structured Ash Removal Proactive structured ash removal is a program that removes trees that may not yet be infested on City boulevards and maintained public properties. The purpose of this BMP is to spread out the cost and number of removals instead of waiting for them to die, overwhelming City crews and budgets. Trees are usually selected geographically, in groups, which can save on mobilization costs and travel time.  The trees that meet the structured removal criteria would be smaller than ten inches in diameter (ineligible to inject), in conflict with infrastructure, or in dead, poor or fair condition with significant structural defects.  The City will utilize St. Anthony Village Public Works Staff to remove smaller trees as much as possible to reduce costs for the program. The number of in-house ash removals will vary from year-to-year due to other staff responsibilities such as snow plowing and street work.  It is important to note here that the current ash inventory encompasses only trees in boulevards (rights-of-way), and mowed, maintained public property. There will be more ash to address in wooded natural areas adjacent to public trails, streets, and private properties that have been uncounted.. Since trees are living, dynamic organisms, they change over time, so some trees originally slated for injection may be moved to the “remove” list if they succumb to storm damage or otherwise become less desirable to treat due to EAB or other variables. These numbers provide a baseline to work from. 8.3.2 EAB Infested Ash Removal for Sanitation and Hazard Prevention – City Property The City will be monitored and inspected throughout the year for EAB infested ash trees on public property. Infested trees will be marked and removed by City staff or contractors as budget permits. Most of the poor and fair condition trees are showing signs of woodpecker activity. The table below suggests recommended minimum targets to remove all the dead, poor and fair condition trees (that are not eligible for injection). In 2023-2024 all dead and poor trees should be removed. Years 2025-2027 should be focused on removal of the fair condition trees that are not being injected. Trees in high-use areas of parks and boulevards will be prioritized for removal first to reduce public risk due to hazardous tree conditions.