Shorewood On Guard Against Deadly Asian Beetle

The sinister emerald ash borer may not have made its way into Shorewood's ash trees yet, but once it does it won't take long for the pest to make its presence felt.

"In one short year it's gone from nobody knowing about it to being in your backyard," said Rob Gorden, the national sales director for Arborjet, a company selling anti-emerald ash borer projects.

Gorden and his Arborjet colleague Jeff Palmer conducted an educational program at Thursday night, warning residents of the destruction wrought by the emerald ash borer and the ways the foreign insect can be eradicated.

"This is not something that belongs in the United States," Gorden said of the beetle that made its way to America from Asia.

"This is something that came to our country, along with many other pests," he said.

The product sold by Arborjet cannot be purchased — much less used — by anyone other than a certified arborist. And there were plenty of them on hand for the Arborjet program as well.

The village employed its own arborist to start treating Shorewood's trees with an Arborjet project this spring and summer.

So far, all trees at least seven inches in diameter in parkways north of Route 52 have been treated, said Interim Village Administrator Roger Barrowman. Some trees in parkways south of Route 52 also have been treated and Barrowman said the village hopes to get as many done as possible across town before the season ends.

The village budgeted $14,000 for the ash tree treatments and in coming years hopes to get to the ash trees in public parks as well.

But ash trees on private property are the responsibilty of landowners themselves, and it is up to them to take care of the problem — either by hiring an Arborjet wielding certified arborist or through some other means.

And if property owners do not, said Gorden, they may as well kiss their ash trees goodbye.

"Ignoring E.A.B. means tree death," he said. "It's really as simple as that."