Hi Mary and all,

    Assuming the Emerald Ash Borer can fly, wide conservation buffers to keep Ash protected, sounds as effective as a water bucket made from 1/2" hardware cloth.

    Black Ash is no doubt endangered but in woodland with heavy soil, White Ash is often abundant. The only defense which I can envision against the EAB or equivalent is adequate thinning so three trees are not competing in a space adequate for one and stand diversity. Insects have a robust survival strategy, safety in numbers, and woodpeckers will never subdue an insect invasion.

Dave 

More important than ever to advocate for leaving healthy standing old forests intact, including standing and fallen deadfall. More than ever, we need good woodpecker habitat to beat back these diseases! Note - The IUCN has redlisted all north american native ashes as critically endangered. We here in Nova Scotia are the last bastion for this endangered genera and its dependent cascading ecosystems. So far the only effective biological control mechanisms are some asian wasp species (must be introduced) and our native woodpeckers. BTW the province should list all native Fraxinus sp. as endangered, not just black ash, and leave wide conservation buffers around stands known to contain ash so as not to bring in the borer on forestry equipment. 

With kindest regards

Mary

On May 1, 2021, at 6:25 AM, John and Nhung <nhungjohn@eastlink.ca> wrote:



Good point, and considering the vulnerabilities of American beech, ash, hemlock, and (Oh, yeah!) American elm, it’s probably better to plant a variety of species. 

 

From: Peter Payzant [mailto:peter@payzant.net]
Sent: April 30, 2021 10:43 PM
To: Doug Linzey
Cc: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca
Subject: [Naturens] Re: CBC: Emerald Ash Borer in Bedford

 

As the old joke goes,

 

Q: "When is the best time to plant a tree?"

A: "About thirty years ago."

 

Probably about time to start putting some replacements into the ground - neither Beech nor Ash, of course.

 

- - - Peter

 

 

On Apr 30, 2021, at 9:22 PM, Doug Linzey <doug@fundymud.com> wrote:



On Wednesday, a fine sunny, warm day, our south-facing windows were covered with little black randomly moving spots, which proved to be Orchestes fagi, Beech leaf-mining weevils. They're waiting impatiently for the beech leaves to emerge and turn much of our property into what you describe, Peter -- dead beech trees. They began the insult last year, and this year I expect a pretty thin canopy by the end of June. That, plus a change in the way water accumulates and sticks around more than it used to, causing some tree dieoff, not to mention much higher and regular winds (and a neighbour who would rather have a well-groomed yard than those pesky natural trees) causing blowdown, all adds up to a seriously challenged bit of forest here on the N. Mountain. Can't wait for the Emerald Ash Borer!

 

Doug

Arlington, Kings Co.

 

On Fri, Apr 30, 2021 at 3:28 PM Peter Payzant <peter@payzant.net> wrote:

CBC had a disheartening story yesterday about the presence of the Emerald Ash Borer in Bedford. It seems that it's now just a matter of time before ash trees in the province are history.

The forest behind our home opened up tremendously with the deaths of all the Beech trees; Ash trees are one of the more common remaining deciduous species.

You can read the story here.

--- Peter Payzant
Waverley

_______________________________________________
Naturens mailing list -- naturens@chebucto.ns.ca
To unsubscribe send an email to naturens-leave@chebucto.ns.ca

_______________________________________________
Naturens mailing list -- naturens@chebucto.ns.ca
To unsubscribe send an email to naturens-leave@chebucto.ns.ca

_______________________________________________
Naturens mailing list -- naturens@chebucto.ns.ca
To unsubscribe send an email to naturens-leave@chebucto.ns.ca

_______________________________________________
Naturens mailing list -- naturens@chebucto.ns.ca
To unsubscribe send an email to naturens-leave@chebucto.ns.ca