FORT COLLINS, Colo. — The presence of the emerald ash borer, a non-native pest, was confirmed in Fort Collins in 2020. Since then, it has continued to grow in numbers.
“This is the first year where dead and dying trees have been very easily spotted in certain areas of Fort Collins, including the W. Plum Street corridor and as far south as E. Horsetooth Road and John F. Kennedy Parkway,” said Ralph Zentz, Fort Collins’s assistant city forester, in a news release. “This tells us that the beetle population is expanding exponentially, which is as we expected.”
The emerald ash borer has the "potential to decimate all untreated North American Ash species of the genus, Fraxinus," according to the release. In Fort Collins, one third of the canopy is made up by the roughly 70,000 ash trees in the city.
“When trees are infested and beyond the opportunity for chemical treatment, the trees need to be removed in a timely manner for the safety of homeowners, forestry staff, arborists, and physical property,” the release says.
> Read the full story at the Fort Collins Coloradoan.
