Emerald ash borer

And then as the tree grows, so it's when you start getting kind of that more mature canopy is when you really get that return on investment in terms of shading and cooling and those effects for your homes where you'll see that that change in your cooling bill like i have my backyard is fully shaded and i really notice a temperature difference when i go from my driveway to my backyard but there's a noticeable difference and it helps keep my the back of my house much cooler um so you have those kind of tangible benefits as well as as jen said the health benefits both in terms of those ecological services um and then also those mental health benefits where you know it's been shown that people in hospitals who have trees or have some sort of wildlife to look at or nature to look at they tend to heal longer than those that don't.

And then also because we're in the backyard you have more opportunity to plant a diversity of native species that also helps support and protect our canopy is when you can plant a diversity of species as we saw with I don't know if You remember Emerald Ash Borer when that came through starting in 2012? There were certain streets that, you know, the practice used to be sometimes when developments came in, they would plant a monoculture of trees.

So you had entire streets that were completely decimated and had a much kind of higher impact than, say, in...

I'm just going to pick on Dundas for a second.

A beautiful but deadly bug has been cited for the first time in Washington state.

We'll talk with a state forestry expert about what the emerald ash borer could mean for Washington ecosystems.

And the mayor has unveiled a new plan to address gun violence.

We'll get into that and the week's other headlines so far.

All right.

When we come back, we're going to talk with the Department of Natural Resources about an invasive new species that might affect Washington's trees.

The emerald ash borer, an invasive beetle that preys on ash trees, was just spotted in Washington for the first time.

And state authorities are asking for our help in trying to spot them and stop their spread.

But

if we had a significant drought or significant presence of a new pest like emerald ash borer or hemlock woolly adelgid or other pests, we're saying we might lose 250 or even 300 trees in a year.

That's been putting the city at a yearly deficit of 80 to 100 trees on average.

Portland's urban forest is facing challenges left and right, Hipple says, changing temperatures due to climate change, drought, pests, storm damage, nutrient deficient soil, development, invasive species.

for fall planting, you know, this whole esplanade, see a couple stumps.

We had a bunch of ash trees here, which ash trees right under the power lines.

But Emerald Ash Borer took care of that for us.

So yeah, just want to replant with something a little more appropriate.

Okay

... number one, I attended a, um, a talk by the Bear Branch Alliance, and they pretty much were warning us about the emerald ash borer.

Now, they're-

I heard the same...

Yeah

... that our, our plants will be very, very... as resistant as they can be.

Uh, do you think that will be good enough for this emerald ash borer?

Uh, that's a great question, and I wish I had a good answer for it.

Like, here in the upper Midwest.

So, the event I'm referring to is the introduction of Emerald Ash Borer, Grylus platypinus.

It's the single most destructive forest pest ever.

Period.

Maybe it's availability.

I know here in the East anyway, at some point it's going to skyrocket on price because of the Emerald Ash Borer.

So the Emerald Ash Borer is an invasive and it's starting to reach Vermont.

Pretty soon you won't be able to find probably the local kind of ash suppliers.

Like I was able to source some, a friend of mine was building a house and he had a ton of ash on his property.

I love it! Maybe they need a trim.

Officials say the emerald ash borer is largely responsible for the canopy loss.

Thousands of mature ash trees are being removed across the city.

I hate that, man.

Come on, we need our canopy.

Why are those emerald ash borers such bastards?

Yeah, that thing has... wreaked havoc on golf courses and neighborhoods.

Yeah.

You know what? To let her give my listeners just a little bit before we give you an opportunity to let us know why you're in the trees.

I met Deb because of Emerald Ash Borer.

And Deb, you have the funniest quick story.

You know, the big green bug, the big three foot chainsaw carved Emerald Ash Borer bug.

Oh, yeah.

Do

You know, the insect is big and you can see all the details, but in real life, it's this little bitty thing that just looks like a little black speck.

Yeah, yeah.