Ash tree removal in Brandon will begin in October

The emerald ash borer has been causing havoc on ash trees in the United States. The beetle is native to Asia but was transplanted to North America. Since its discovery in the United States in 2002, it has spread across the eastern portion of the country and is now found in 33 states.

Count South Dakota as one of them.

The larvae of the insect is what causes most of the damage, feeding on the inner bark of the tree and eventually killing it.

Although there hasn’t been a discovery in Brandon, there has been plenty in Sioux Falls and the city is in the middle of a 10-year plan to eradicate the problem. A blue No. 9 is spray painted on the side of ash trees in Sioux Falls, and last year alone, the city removed one-third of the trees in the city.

Brandon parks superintendent Devin Coughlin said it’s only a matter of time before Brandon sees an infection, so the city is taking a preemptive strike to slow any spread.

“If it’s in Sioux Falls, there’s a real good chance that it’s here but it just isn’t showing yet,” Coughlin said. “It does take a couple of years to get established before it really starts doing some damage.”

Earlier this month Coughlin and his staff sent letters to notify residents of ash tree removal starting in October. The areas in Brandon to see the first wave of removal are The Bluffs, Eagle Creek, Stone Ridge, French Creek and the Brandon Industrial Park.

On Sept. 15, members of the parks department identified trees in those neighborhoods that are scheduled to be taken down with a pink ribbon. Unlike Sioux Falls, Coughlin said they will be putting ribbons on trees rather than spray painting. Residents also have the opportunity to treat the tree rather than having the city take it down.

“If somebody wants to treat the tree and keep them, we don’t want to paint them,” he said. “But we know it’s coming. We know it’s going to be here, guaranteed, in the next 2-3-4-5-10 years. By starting now, we’re hoping that we can chip away at it every year. If we do small sections of town, we should be done dealing with it in 10 years for sure.”

Since sending out the letters and identifying trees with a ribbon, Coughlin said there hasn’t been a lot of resistance from residents. 

“I think most are aware of it and they know it’s coming,” Coughlin said. “We’ll be doing the same thing throughout the city parks over the next few years, too.”

There is no cost to homeowners if the city removes an ash tree. Coughlin said the city will take the tree down all the way to the stump. However, it will be the homeowner’s responsibility to put something back in its place or to put grass seed down.

Coughlin said they chose the neighborhoods this year based on the amount of trees, and their size. The entire operation should be done this year within two weeks of starting.

“We’re starting out kind of small,” Coughlin said. “We want to get a feel if this is the best way to do it and knock the kinks out before we dive into some of the bigger neighborhoods with bigger and established ash trees.” 

Coughlin said residents can treat ash trees instead of having the city cut them down. He said that can cost up to $300 per treatment, but using an injection treatment every-other year has a 99% success rate if done properly. But the cost can creep up as the treatment will have to be done for as long as the tree is alive.

Coughlin said he’s seen several residents already treating their trees in Brandon ever since the first discovery in Sioux Falls was announced.

But Coughlin said he isn’t planning on treating the ash trees on his personal property until it’s actually found in Brandon.