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Emerald Ash Borer Management Plan City of St. Anthony Village, MN WSB Project No. 022315-000 Page 18 removal, and the costs and staff time associated with the volume of removals will likely exceed budget constraints.  USDA Forest Service research has indicated “thinning” woodlands of ash does not “slow the spread” of EAB and instead kills any remaining ash trees in woodlands faster due to less ash material being present.  If an ash tree becomes infested within a City owned natural area, City staff will evaluate if removal is necessary for safety. o This practice does not provide optimum sanitation to reduce EAB but acknowledges the reality of staff and budget constraints and places a realistic focus on those trees will most impact public safety.  Ash tree mature heights range from 65-80 feet tall. Field Staff will determine if an infested ash tree would qualify for removal. 8.3.3 EAB Infested Ash Removal for Hazard Prevention – Private Property Currently, the City of St. Anthony Village does not have an estimate of the number of ash trees growing on private property and does not plan to proactively inspect or identify infested trees unless they are on public property. A private-property code enforcement program takes an enormous amount of staff time and resources. City Staff will continue to provide education and outreach to the community, as well as answer calls and emails from individual residents. In some instances, however, dying private property ash trees may impact public streets, trails, parking lots, and parks due to their proximity. In those instances, the City may declare the ash tree a “nuisance” requiring abatement. Abatement measures would include tree removal and appropriate disposal of wood. Stump grinding is not required to abate the safety risk.  The ability to require removal of a tree that is posing a risk to a public space as noted in St. Anthony Village City Code Chapter 92: HEALTH AND SAFETY; NUISANCES. Although the City of St. Anthony Village will not require residents to remove infested ash trees unless they are an immediate risk to public spaces, it will still be a sizable burden for residents to handle EAB on their property. Ash trees have already started dying in large cohorts, which often leads to a greater number of email and phone call complaints to City staff. In some cities, there is a formal process to assist fixed-income or in-need residents in removing trees that are a risk to their home or public property.  A program to consider implementing is a nuisance abatement program or other agreement which would authorize the City to send their designated contractor to remove an infested tree (or any dead/high risk tree) if the property owner communicated an inability to remove the tree that is creating a public safety