Politics & Government
Emerald Ash Borer Battle Continues: Plainfield to Remove More Trees in 2014
The village continues to get requests from homeowners associations to remove insect-infested trees.
In the last year, more than 600 trees were cut down in the Village of Plainfield, all falling victim to the scourge of the emerald ash borer.
On Monday, the village board approved investing another $60,000 in eradicating the pest, awarding a contract to Arbor Tek Services to continue removing infected trees.
The insect, which burrows into ash trees, killing them from the inside out, has destroyed tens of millions of trees in the midwest over the last 12 years, according to Director of Public Works Allen Persons.
Two years ago, the Illinois Department of Agriculture confirmed that the invasive species had made its way into Plainfield, infecting trees mainly in the north section of town.
Now, Persons said, "It's spread to the entire village." He said the village has received an unexpected number of requests from Plainfield homeowners associations asking for parkway ash trees to be removed.
In some cases, HOAs are asking for the removal of not only infected trees, but also all ash trees susceptible to the ash borer, Persons said. Because the trees are in the village's right of way, the removal is done at no cost to the HOAs, he said.
The village is also replacing trees, but only at a rate of about 400-500 per year, Persons said.
"There will be a lag" between tree removal and replacement, he said.
Due to the early snow, the village is already behind on responding to requests, Persons said.
"Requests for tree removal have exceeded our expectations for this year," he said. "We're trying to anticipate demand for next year" and get ahead of spring requests, according to Persons.
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