As a follow-up to an earlier post, are pleased to share with you the following information update from the office of Ward 6, Etobicoke-Lakeshore Councillor Mark Grimes:

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An updated report went through the City of Toronto Council last week:

EAB Update

The cost to the city by 2018 will be 860,000 trees and 5.2 million dollars to fight the problem.

The city’s investment is larger than any other community in Ontario due to the large Urban Forest that is solely managed by the city.

The City of Toronto voted last week (April 10, 2012) to increase the tree replacements. The recommendations at Council were :

1. City Council request the Federation of Canadian Municipalities and the Association of Municipalities of Ontario to urge the Federal and Provincial governments to take leadership roles in recognizing the need to support urban forestry, by establishing urban forestry mandates and programs, and that:

a. these programs include funding assistance to municipalities for the control and management of the Emerald Ash Borer and future significant imported diseases and insects; and

b. the creation and funding of programs be designed to support the on-going sustainable management of urban forests.

2. City Council, in light of the emergency situation created by the Emerald Ash Borer, ask the Ministry of the Environment to accelerate the licensing process for TreeAzin.

3. City Council request the General Manager, Parks, Forestry and Recreation to treat as many trees as possible this year and attempt to achieve a target of 3,000 trees, instead of 2,000 trees, subject to available resources.

An update concerning the Strategy for the Management of the Emerald Ash Borer can be found at the City of Toronto website.

LEAF is training volunteers

As well, LEAF — Local Enhancement and Appreciation of Forests — is training volunteers to make presentations in local communities regarding the Emerald Ash Borer.

Their presentation to Council can be accessed as a PDF file:

LEAF EAB Presentation

LEAf also helps with replanting private trees.

If a local resident has received the training, the office of Councillor Mark Grimes is willing to assist with setting up a public meeting for such a resident to speak to residents.

It is the understanding of the Councillor’s office that Palace Place, which has a large number of ash trees, has been treating their trees.

It has been suggested that members of the community may wish to speak with someone there about what their arborist is doing. They are served by Pioneer Trees and Ryan Services.

Palace Place has been recognized as one of the top managed condo buildings in Toronto, and has instituted many environmentally friendly programs.

[Comment from Jaan Pill: With regard to arborists, I’m also pleased to mention Andrew Frederikse of Maple Hill Tree Services and Ian Bruce of Bruce-Irvine & Associates. You can find them online or send me an email.]

TreeAzinT Systemic Insecticide is owned by the Canadian Forest Service (CFS) and was developed in collaboration with BioForest Technologies Inc., which holds its worldwide license. Information can be found at http://www.bioforest.ca

Here’s a further update

According to The Toronto Star, the cost of replanting trees to replace those lost to the Emerald Ash Borer is projected to cost $10 million a year.