Woodbury Looks at Tree Canopy, Prepares for Emerald Ash Borer

The Woodbury City Council on Wednesday learned that about 23 percent of the city is covered by a tree canopy while also looking at how it can prepare for the seemingly imminent arrival of the emerald ash borer.

An inventory of trees in city parks and right-of-ways shows that a little more than 17 percent are ash, according to Whitney Olson, an urban forestry specialist with Minnesota GreenCorps, part of a team that examined the city’s trees through a Department of Natural Resources grant.

The council took no formal action Wednesday, as it was a workshop meeting, but members seemed to agree that the city should start removing old and dying ash trees. The emerald ash borer—a beetle that kills ash trees—has not come to the city. But those tasked with the tree canopy study it’s a matter of when, not if.

The city could look at removing 40 ash trees a year over the next five years. The presence of the emerald ash borer was expected to spread more quickly than it did, Olson said. Yet she cautioned that once it runs out of a food supply it tends to move rapidly from one place to another.

Chemical treatment options were briefly discussed, but the experts in attendance said the measure must be done every 3-5 years.

Tree Canopy

The city’s neighborhoods vary widely when it comes to tree cover. Generally, the city’s older neighborhoods have a higher percentage of tree canopy.

For example, the Royal Oaks neighborhood as a more than 40 percent tree canopy while Stonemill Farms is at 8 percent.

The 22-23 percent figure for the city as a whole will likely increase as the thousands of trees that have been planted in recent years continue to grow.

The council also discussed its policy for replacing trees in public right-of-ways and seemed to support a measure that would allow people to replace their own trees as long as they are planted eight feet back from the curb and maintained by the homeowner. Different neighborhoods in Woodbury have different policies concerning who is tasked with maintaining trees. In some neighborhoods it is the city’s responsibility; in others it’s up to the homeowners association.

In Support of Trees

Jill Johnson, with the U.S. Forest Service, discussed the benefits of trees.

Neighborhoods benefit from trees through increased safety, improved air quality, sociability of residents, storm water management, lower heating and cooling costs, and increased home values and quicker sales.

Kristen Raab, a Woodbury resident who attended the meeting, mentioned studies that demonstrate trees also provide benefits to hospital patients, and children with attention-deficit disorder also do better on tests after playing in a natural environment.

Lynne Markus, chair of the city’s Parks and Recreation Commission, said she understands the how the city’s budget must be factored into any discussion about planting trees, but said the benefit is worth it.

“They truly are one of the best investments we can make in our community,” she said.

Howard Markus, a member of the city’s Environmental Advisory Commission, said the city should look into planting bur oaks. He said the trees grow much larger than others and can live up to 120 years.