WILLISTON, Vt. (WCAX) – Vermont’s ash trees continue to face an onslaught from the emerald ash borer, which has been detected in almost all counties. From cutting ash trees down to insecticide treatments, municipalities have different approaches.
Foresters are drilling holes and injecting insecticides into tree trunks in Williston as part of an effort. to fight the emerald ash borer.
“We asked the town to fund a project to treat the trees. Emerald ash borer is here in Vermont and it is a big problem,” said Terry Marron with the Williston Conservation Commission.
EAB was first detected in Vermont back in 2018. Native to China and eastern Russia, the invasive beetle burrows into trees, usually killing them in about three to five years.
But if an infestation is detected early enough an insecticide can be used to treat the tree and kill the beetles. Marron and other groups helped treat 11 trees in the Catamount Community Forest as part of the Big Jim Emerald Ash Borer Project, named after one of Vermont’s largest ash trees.
“I think in saving these 11 ash trees — and hopefully there are some female ash trees which will produce seed and continue to spread their seeds and young ash trees will continue to grow,” Marron said.
The project started in 2022 when the Williston Conservation Commission started working with the Catamount Community Forest Management Committee to treat ash trees on the land.
“It is part of the management plan for this forest. It is an important part of preserving what we have here. We are very lucky in Williston that we have Catamount. This is part of that process, and it’s an active threat,” said Williston Town Conservation Planner Andrew Plumb.
Kris Dulmer, who is applying the treatment, says in a good season, he treats over 400 trees and believes that treatment it better than cutting them down. “Extreme lows of like $6 an inch to, you know, $15 an inch. In some situations, it’s cheaper just to treat the tree. And the positive is, you still have a nice tree,” Dulmer said.
The trees must be treated every two to three years, so organizers say they will be back at it in 2026.