7-9-13 emerald ash borer-fdl

Fond du lac city officials say the DNR doesn’t believe an Emerald Ash Borer discovered in a vehicle in Fond du lac originated from the city.   Public Works Director Jordan Skiff says the insect was discovered in a vehicle in Fond du lac that originated from Illinois.   "There was one bug found, and I don't want to make our listeners too concerned about it, because the DNR did look at it and concluded that it looked like the bug was found in a vehicle...that drove up here from Illinois and so the bug was probably in the vehicle from where he had stayed the night before and hadn't fallen into this vehicle from a Fond du lac tree,"   Skiff told AM 1`170 WFDL's Between the Lines program. 

Skiff will update the city council on the city’s pre-emptive efforts to ease the impact when the EAB is eventually detected in the city.  Public Works crews are in the process of removing thousands of ash trees.  Skiff says the city has shifted its focus to removing smaller ash trees first because of a higher than anticipated cost.  The city has budgeted $20,000 annually for the tree removal program.   "One big reason is that I think it will be less of an impact on neighborhoods that are used to the large canopy and the larger tree.  Plus it will cost less to remove those types of trees so we will be able to remove more of them,"  Skiff said.