Timber! City to Chop Down 22,000 Infested Trees

More than 22,000 trees in the city of Sioux Falls will be cut down according to Sioux Falls Parks and Recreation operations manager Kelby Mieras. The destructive insect known as the emerald ash borer was discovered in the city in the spring of 2018. It is very similar to the Dutch Elm Disease of the 1970's.

According to the Sioux Falls Parks and Recreation, most of the trees are located in the central part of Sioux Falls. And they’re not all coming down this summer. If we had Sylvester Stallone with a flame thrower, then maybe. But the city won't do that. So the city's goal is to remove 2,200 trees this year and hope to remove all 22,000 trees in the next nine years. Some of the trees are quite large and therefore removing them is going to be quite a task.

Sioux Falls in not alone when fighting this destructive bug. It has hit over 100 million trees in the United States and covers a vast 35 states.

There is a treatment for your ash tree if you believe it is newly infected by the emerald ash boror. EAB treatment is known to be 85 - 95% effective.