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Pastimes : Where the GIT's are going -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: ManyMoose who wrote (120839)	9/22/2006 9:54:52 AM
From: Honor First	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 225578

Cutting trees for no reason might be dumb, but growing trees for wood and other products is a worthy and honorable enterprise. Perhaps there are other good reasons for clearing trees... fire maintenance, growth maintenance, disease maintenance - here in upper Ohio we have a tree disease spreading from Michigan. <I placed the bold marks in the one sentence> Here is a taste of discussion in Toledo: JOHN SEEWER Associated Press TOLEDO, Ohio - Deciding whether to use an insecticide to protect ash trees from a tree-killing beetle may simply come down to an emotional decision for homeowners. That's because there is no guarantee that any of the insecticides will work. And trying to save just one tree can be costly. Most emerald ash borer experts recommend that homeowners should weigh the cost of trying to save an ash tree versus the cost of replacing it with another tree. Another factor may be the emotional attachment of the tree, said Amy Stone, a horticulturist with Ohio State University's extension office in Toledo. "Some trees were planted in memory of someone or on a special occasion," she said. "That tree may be worth more to someone." Now that the state has moved away from cutting down trees around the edge of the ash borer outbreak in northwest Ohio, they are also shifting the costs of removing, replacing and disposing of infested ash trees to land owners and local governments. Insecticides, which can either be injected into the tree or applied to the soil, can't stop the ash borer from spreading, but in some cases they have been found to protect individuals trees from being infested. "I don't think anybody's going to guarantee it will work," said Mike Pisarsky, superintendent of horticultural services in Sandusky. "It's hit or miss at best." So far, the ash borer has spread from Michigan into northwest Ohio and a few other isolated spots in the state. It also has been found in seven counties in Indiana. Ohio State University's ash borer experts recommend that only those homeowners who live within quarantined areas of northwest Ohio use insecticides. "If you start in the earliest stages when a tree is just being impacted, they may be effective," said Dan Herms, an entomologist with the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center in Wooster. Spraying outside areas where the ash pest has taken hold would be a waste of money, experts say. Applying an insecticide can cost several hundred dollars and must be done at least once a year. Robert Waltz, Indiana's entomologist and member of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's ash borer science advisory panel, said he is telling people not to use an insecticide unless they are within 30 miles of an infested area. "We're not strongly supporting using insecticides, but we're not opposing those either," he said. The price tag for removing and replacing a decent size ash tree can cost anywhere from $500-$1000. "There's an economic analysis of treating versus replacing with another tree," Waltz said. stow.oh.us