Here in St. Paul we dump our diseased trees in the river valley on the West Side. Right now there are 2 gigantic piles, one on this side of the river and the other, the city's pile, across the way at Pig's Eye. Soon, there will be a third pile since District Energy's subsidary has applied for the rights to do so. These trees serve as fuel for the biomass plant on Kellogg. They come from all over Mpls and St. Paul to the site in our neighborhood (red rings St. Paul, orange rings Mpls.)
These operations do not have ANY restrictions or regulations in terms of controlling the spread of Dutch Elm–not one word expressed anywhere in terms of controlling the spread of the disease. These trees are piled up and left in tact for months and in some cases, years at a time. St. Paul City Code states that it is a violation to leave diseased trees in tact after they are cut down. My neighborhood borders one of these facilities and for the past several years we have been hit hard with Dutch Elm leaf infestation. Several arborists have told me that our problem is most likely beetles hatching in the bark of the dead tree piles that are a couple stories tall with a footprint the size of a soccer field. These beetles can fly thousands of feet (miles on a breese.) We are within 300 feet of these piles. When I called the head forester for the City and asked how these trees could be left in tact to spread the disease he told me that the river valley is exempt from that part of the city code because the river valley is too far gone to Dutch Elm. How can this be? I'm 300 feet away and am subject to city employees coming on to my private property and telling me I have to cut a tree down by a certain date at $400 a pop or risk having them do it at double the rate when 300 feet away these piles have been radiating the disease, year after year.
State Code (Ag Dept.) says that piles of diseased trees must be covered in the spring in order to mitigate the spread of the disease. When I called the Ag Dept. to complain about the unregulated piles of diseased trees they told me that the State law cannot be enforced since the city never filed a Dutch Elm plan with the state.
Experts from the U of M who worked with St. Paul in the 70s to bring the disease under control have voiced frustration with the fact that the piles are never covered allowing the disease to spread.
It does not seem right that citizens spend so much money cutting these trees down and removing them with the thought that they are disposing of them properly only for them to go to the river and carry out this cyclical Dutch Elm beetle birthing process. Money is being made by the tree companies and shredders and saved by the biomass facility for having such cheap fuel so close by.
Anyone have any ideas?
Michelle Hoffman
West Side resident (highly concerned about our urban forest and the new wave of Ash disease)
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