An emerald ash borer (EAB) infestation could devastate Greeley’s tree canopy. With the pest’s location confirmed in nearby communities, Greeley officials want to help residents protect their ash trees from this destructive beetle.
Greeley’s Residential Ash Treatment Program provides a treatment option—with potential cost savings—for Greeley residents who own ash trees. Residents have until May 1 to apply for the 2024 treatment cycle of this program. A single treatment provides protection for three years. Applicants who participated in the Program in 2021 will need to complete a new application for treatments this year and are encouraged to do so.
Last year, Greeley’s program got more than 200 privately owned trees the protective treatment they need to combat the invasive and destructive (EAB) beetle as it moves steadily closer to Greeley.
What’s the risk in Greeley
In May 2020, officials discovered the pest north of Fort Collins and that came just after officials confirmed EAB near Berthoud in 2019. To date, officials have not identified the pest in Greeley.
For Greeley, an EAB infestation could mean damage to thousands of ash trees—which make up about 15 percent of the local forest. The city owns about five percent of Greeley’s ash trees, the rest belong to private property owners.
“We are really encouraging property owners to look into preventative measures and protect their ash trees” said Greeley Forestry Manager Shiloh Hatcher. “This program can help a lot of Greeley’s trees and we certainly hope to increase the number of protective treatments each year.”
How the program works
Simply put, this program allows residents to pay the City of Greeley to treat their ash trees and the city will hire a licensed pesticide applicator to provide the preventative treatments.
Once city residents submit their application, a city inspector will visit the applicant’s property and assess any or all existing ash trees. The program will notify the applicant of the results—including measured tree sizes, tree conditions, and an estimated cost of tree treatment based on the size of the trees.
Preventative treatments provide a low-cost solution to help protect trees and to reduce the impact to the community forest once the insect arrives in Greeley.
Other benefits offered by the program include:
- Avoiding expensive removal of trees not preventatively treated for EAB
- Protecting the long-term benefits of trees
- Protecting the landscape value of property
- Prolonging shade on residents’ property
- Reducing the overall amount of ash trees that will need to be removed in Greeley once EAB infestation reaches here.
To sign up for the program, go to greeleygov.com/EABtreatment and then:
- Read the program rules and regulations
- Submit an application through the “Residential Ash Treatment Program” portal
- Get an initial inspection by the City of Greeley
- Receive a prompt for payment to the City of Greeley if your trees qualify
- All qualified properties will get scheduled for treatments
- Treatments will take place between June 1 and July 3
The cost of treatment through this program will depend on the total number of participants in a given year — if more residents participate in the program, individual costs may be lowered.
Please check for up to date information about this project at greeleygov.com/EABtreatment. For more information about this program, contact Forestry Manager Shiloh Hatcher at 970-351-5150 or Forestry@greeleygov.com.
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