Minneapolis and St. Paul are losing thousands of trees to emerald ash borer

By the time emerald ash borer beetles and city chain saws are done chewing, the Twin Cities will have lost all their public ash trees, leaving holes in the urban forest canopy that will take decades to fill.

In what arborists are calling an environmental catastrophe, Minneapolis crews plan to remove 5,000 trees a year until all the city’s public ash trees are gone. In St. Paul, more than 8,500 boulevard ash trees have been removed so far, and the pace is increasing. When the cities are done cutting, nearly 60,000 trees will be gone.

http://www.startribune.com/minneapolis-and-st-paul-are-losing-thousands-of-trees-to-emerald-ash-borer/421687683/