WINONA, Minn. – After a 10-year $100,000 project to save the ash tree canopy on city boulevards, city forester Chris Kramer has resigned himself to let the trees die. In effect, the tree-killing ash borer won the war. Under City Council budget pressure to end $80 per tree insecticide treatment that needed reapplication every third year, there is now a new course: Let the 1,000 ash die and replace them gradually with other tree species as the ash need to be felled.
On your own
City forester Chris Kramer welcomed homeowners to treat boulevard ashes on their own. Just let him know first. No surprise: After treating the city’s 1,000 ashes for 10 years, Kramer knows exactly what insecticides and protocols to use.