Grants to help Lake County in ash borer fight

The Lake County Forest Preserve District recently received some help in the anticipated fight against a destructive pest.

A $200,000 federal grant will be used to offset the expected damage caused by the emerald ash borer, an advancing pest whose full impact is yet to come.

“This extra $200,000 to purchase trees will go a long way,” said Mike Tully, director of operations and public safety.

The grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture will fund restoration of urban and community forest impacted by the emerald ash borer, which has killed more than an 25 million ash trees since it was confirmed in the Midwest eight years ago.

Lake is one of 14 Illinois counties with confirmed infestations. The forest preserve district has removed a few dozen trees at the Thunderhawk Golf Course in Beach Park but that is far from what is to come, according to Chuck Myers, assistant superintendent for natural resource operations.

“So far, we haven't taken that many down,” Myers said.

“I think we'll start seeing huge destruction in the next two years.”

The district every year budgets about $200,000 to deal with insect management, mainly mosquito control regarding the West Nile virus and removal of trees involving the emerald ash borer.

The grant will allow the district to plant trees anywhere as part of a plan to restore the tree canopy.

About 45 percent of trees in some forest preserve recreational areas are ash, Myers said, so the idea would be to supplement what's there, for example, before a noticeable number have to be removed.

“We always plant some trees every year,” he said. “It's not like we'll take a tree (ash) down and buy one to replace it.”

Overall, ash account for about 15 percent of the overall forest preserve tree inventory, Myers estimated.

“It's more of a big picture thing than a one to one replacement,” Tully said.

The forest preserve isn't the only entity bracing for what is considered an inevitable onslaught.

In Lake County, infestations of the emerald ash borer also have been confirmed in Buffalo Grove, Lake Forest, Libertyville and Round Lake, according to the Illinois Department of Agriculture.

“I'm kind of cringing about next year,” said Jim Barlow, superintendent of parks in Libertyville. “We think a lot of them (ash trees) have it but we can't verify it.”

Libertyville recently took out about seven or eight infested trees on the public right of way but is not replacing them.

In Lake Zurich, the village's tree commission is working on a plan in case the metallic green pest strikes.

“We know the beetle has been migrating this way and we felt it was important to be prepared in case any of our ash trees are suddenly invaded,” said Village Administrator Bob Vitas.

Daily Herald Staff Writer Lee Filas contributed to this story.