Sports
Emerald ash borers impact area courses
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Monday, July 21, 2008 10:32 AM EDT
For Ed French, the impact that emerald ash borers have had across the state of Michigan might end up costing him more than a few ash trees.
That's because French, the owner of Chippewa Hills Golf Course in Durand, is worried his roughly 20 dead ash trees could actually end up changing the design of his golf course.
“I got some of the trees that are completely dead, some half-dead, and some that are starting to die,” French said. “Some of them are big ones. It's going to make the course look awfully bad.”
Emerald ash borers (EAB) were first discovered in Shiawassee County in the fall of 2003. Throughout the state, an estimated 30 million ash trees have died since EAB's were first discovered in 2002, according to Michigan Department of Agriculture Public Information Officer Jennifer Holton.
While adult beetles do little damage, the larvae feed off the inner bark of trees and cut off their water supply, effectively strangling them and leaving behind a maze-like imprint underneath the bark (below).
Although he's yet to take action, French knows leaving his damaged ash trees in place is a luxury he won't be able to afford much longer.
“I don't know what we're going to do about that, because we haven't cut any down,” French said. “We haven't done anything yet.”
The most likely solution will be taking the trees out, but that's something French isn't looking forward to. Particularly, he's hesitant about removing two large ash trees that surround his practice green - because of the labor, as well as aesthetic purposes.
“I'd like to figure out something else, but I'm going to have to put something in their place, but nothing will be as big as they are,” French said.
Removal of the trees has been the only practical solution for Dan Molnar, owner of Corunna Hills Golf Course.
“We've probably taken six to eight of them down, but we've got another 60 to take down,” Molnar said. “They're anywhere from 6 inches in diameter to almost 40 inches. We've got some real biggies out there.”
Removing some of those trees could end up changing the layout on parts of the course. A dog leg to the right on No. 3 stands out the most, where three dead ash trees standing 40-50 feet tall protect the corner.
“We'll replace them by putting pin oak or honey locusts,” Molnar said. “As they grow up, I'll put the ashes down.”
While most owners have opted to remove the dead ash trees, there are alternatives - albeit more expensive - that could possibly save them.
Jim Tucker, owner of Dutch Hollow Golf Club, said representatives from Michigan State University offered a solution by way of tree injection.
But at $50 a tree, it wasn't an ideal option.
“No it isn't, not when you can replace them with something else,” said Tucker, who instead of opting for the injections, chose to remove 70 trees last winter. “I don't see the problem going away with the ash trees. Sooner or later they'll all be dead.”
Dr. Dave Smitley is an entomologist at MSU, and is an expert in the study of insecticide use for the control of EAB's.
Smitley said there are different methods of treatment depending upon the size of the tree. For smaller trees, a mixture can be applied to the base of the tree can help prevent the EAB's from damaging the tree. This method is also cheaper, generally running about $20 a tree.
“The research we've done shows it's very successful for trees 16 inches in diameter and below, but it's worse for larger trees,” Smitley said.
For those larger trees, such as the ones beside Ed French's practice green, there are two injections, imidacloprid and emamectin benzoate, that have been effective.
But with neither injection being effective for more than two to three years at a time, Smitley said a lot of golf courses have been reluctant to try and save most of their trees.
“They pick ones that are most important to the appearance of the course and they save them and tear the other ones down,” he said.
Despite the need for yearly, or bi-yearly tree injections, Smitley said there's strong reason to believe that if ash trees can survive the first five years of infections, the injections could be cut back.
“The heaviest pressure is in the first five years when it sweeps through and kills the trees,” Smitley said. “If they make it through the first five years, we expect you can back off on insecticides after that.”
Owners like French, however, don't have the chance to wait that long - the damage has been done.
“I didn't even know they were ash trees until they started dying,” French said.
“I'm sure everybody's in the same boat I am if they've got them.”
