I’ve had a few questions about what the county is doing to combat emerald ash borer — including some of my own — so I posed them to Milwaukee County Supervisor Pat Jursik.
Here is her response …
I appreciate the questions about Milwaukee County’s strategy to combat Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) in Milwaukee County Parks and particularly at Grant Park. The Milwaukee County Parks Department updated me on its current efforts:
- To combat EAB and limit the impacts of ash tree loss, the Parks Department has applied a balanced solution of treatment, removal, and replacement. To date the majority of the work in dealing with EAB in Grant Park has been ash tree removal. Our goal is a balanced approach by increasing our plantings and ash tree treatments in the park. We have applied for grants and will continue to apply for them. To date we have received three grants that have been major keystones in our approach to EAB and Ash. One grant helped us to write the EAB plan, another helped with treatment, and the most recent will increase plantings in Milwaukee County, specifically Grant Park. We are currently at Grant doing some work and plan to continue this fall. For efficiency, we make every attempt to coordinate EAB-targeted work with regular forestry duties in the park. We do continue to work and seek out any partners and other municipalities that share this cause. For example, we hope to participate in an opportunity using predatory wasps that attack EAB. The WI DNR is the lead on this.
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