Springfield group turns preservation efforts to ash tree

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) - The preservationists at the Springfield Art Association are turning their attention to a threatened ash tree.

The 70 to 100-year-old tree on the art association campus was treated this week to prevent the emerald ash borer from destroying it. Experts say the pest is continuing to spread rapidly through the city.

The (Springfield) State Journal-Register reports (http://bit.ly/2bbFA3t ) the rescue plan is part of the association's long-term development plans.

The group raised more than $1 million to restore Edwards Place - its headquarters built in the mid-19th Century by a friend of Abraham Lincoln. Now association executive director Betsy Dollar says it will collect $800,000 to build a new art studio and do other site work which works around the tree.

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Information from: The State Journal-Register, http://www.sj-r.com