If you remove some ash from the wet areas, plant some baldcypress in there.

My woods is predominantly ash, but also has various maples, black cherry, linden, oak, poplar, beech, ironwood, and others.

===>>> how many of the later???

sounds like removal of the ash will leave you with an already diverse forest ...

ken

Too hard to tell the rate of change with the info given. Just let it go and when you start to see dying trees, clear and dispose of per instructions. You likely have several years before there is a hazard created. Then contact your County Extension and see what they recommend and if they have any contacts with the state forest service for replanting sales-giveaways.

Dan

While the woods is diverse overall, in the couple of acres directly behind the house it is probably over 90% ash. So when they go, there will be a huge open hole. Other trees will eventually seed in from the edges, but I want to accelerate the process where I know this hole is going to be. Right out the kitchen window.

Everywhere else in the woods there is enough diversity to just let nature take care of it.

Don't bald cypress need full sun to grow?

IF IT WERE ME ....

i would simply enjoy the 'change' in the landscape .. rather than rush in to changing it into my predisposition of over-planting my garden ..

you might end up with an incredible new landscape .. BY DOING NOTHING ...

picture in your mind.. a high canopied forest setting with an area where the sun will beam down and light a small area ... very robinhoodish ...

riddle me this batman ...WHY???

in the alternative.. WHATS YOUR HURRY ... give it a year or two.. to find out what the result is.. such an area would be prime for hosta.. azalea ... rhodies ... any kind of a shade garden ...

make yourself happy.. just playing devils advocate ....

ken

Here is a link that might be useful: link

My understanding is that it doesn't wipe out 100% of them, even in hard hit areas. I would thin out some- those showing stress or other problem and get some beech started.

EAB will wipe out 100% of native ash of any size (only the saplings won't be killed). I'd go ahead and get some other species started. If you do nothing, you'll probably be disappointed with the outcome (around here the buckthorn and other invasives take over where there's no intervention).

Maybe the EAB parasitoids they're just now beginning to introduce may have an impact, but it will be a while before we know. There's also research underway into ash hybridization to develop resistance (see link).

Here is a link that might be useful: novel ash hybrid program

The "epicenter" of the Emerald Ash Borer infestation, the first place this pest was discovered in North America, was in a subdivision in Plymouth, Michigan, about 20 miles due south of my house. It took about 3 years to spread to my neighborhood. All of my mature trees died. My juvenile ash tree survived the initial onslaught with minimal damage until Imadichloprid came along. Since then, it's been fine with an annual application in early spring (mid-April).

It will be a couple years before you notice anything. There have been no infested trees found associated with the find in Genesee Co. That being said the insect found in that trap is most likely an outlier from a higher population somewhere else (possibly closer to you or further away).

For reference the infestation from Randolph in Catt Co. is 5+ years old. Localized damage around town is heavy if you know what your looking for but many people to this day do not know the insect exists in their community. The farthest find from "ground zero" recorded this year was 2.5 miles.

The find in the Hudson is much Larger, at least a decade old. A conservative estimate of the infestation in that area would be 50 square miles.

Many people point out how fast this is spreading, but in reality they are just pointing out the fact that we are getting better at finding it. The more people that are educated, the more people find it, and the "faster" it spreads. When in reality it may have been there for quite some time and no one noticed it. The original infestation in Michigan was found in 2003, however that population most likely dates back to the early 90s or late 80s.

This will kill 100% of your ash. This will hit anything larger than your thumb and when your saplings get some age on them they will be hit by beetles coming from other properties/ trees. This will continue until your seed bank has been depleted. In order to save the trees you would need a simultaneous die off of all ash everywhere, at which point you could re-plant. This is unrealistic.

You could treat some trees that may add value to your property but a forest wide treatment is also unrealistic. The general rule of thumb for treatment is, if you have a known infestation within 5 miles you should start treating trees you want to save. Also younger more vigorous trees are better candidates for treatment because they relocate the insecticide better.

I would contact your local Extension office (master foresters), Local DEC Forester or other private forester for recommendations. If left on its own you may not be happy with the outcome (invasive's).

Bio control may have some affect but what i have heard has not been all that promising. It will not be the answer but it may help if a management strategy is developed.

There is no doubt about it that this will drastically alter forest composition, especially in the southern tier.

Jared Spokowsky
Senior Horticultural Inspector (WNY)
NYS Dept of Ag / Division of Plant Industry

welcome to GW Jared ...

link below from his members page ... go figure.. someone with hands on knowledge ... lol ...

i treated my ash with bayer tree and shrub once ... then that was enough money wasted on a lost cause ... so down they came .. luckily.. they were just barely within my ability to do it myself .... at about 25 feet ...

ken

Here is a link that might be useful: link

Thanks for all the replies.

I have thousands of ash trees, so it is not feasible to treat them. Even the huge ones would be too much work.

It appears to be a question of WHEN, not IF. And when it does come, it will be devastating. Sure is depressing.

If left to its own devices, I suspect the woods would quickly fill up with the usual suspects around here - nasty rosa multiflora, poplar, and lots more ash trees. I'm going to investigate seeds and seedlings, must look to the future.

Thanks again.

I would just offer this... what if one of your ash trees is resistant to EAB and you cut it down prematurely? One of the great tragedies of Chestnut blight was huge swathes of Chestnut were cut down to create a 'buffer' to halt the disease spread (it didn't work). Who knows how much genetic diversity was lost in the process?
Of course, the trade off will be a yard full of ugly dead trees while betting on a LONG shot, but I guess I would confirm death first - assuming they are not hanging over my house!

I'm so sorry to hear about what will likely happen to your Ash trees. What a terrible shame to lose so many wonderful trees. If some of the dead trees do not create a hazard, consider leaving them standing as snags. Dead wood provides critical habitat for all sorts of wildlife and the trees eventually become fantastic nesting sites for many species of birds!

Just took this pic the other day around sunset at a local beaver pond which covers about 5 acres. Obviously the trees died off years ago when the beavers originally built the dam. Now the beaver pond functions not only as a heronry for Great Blue herons (some heron nests on right side of picture), but nesting and roosting habitat for a myriad of cavity nesters from Pileated Woodpeckers to eastern Bluebirds.
{{gwi:197004}}

I'm going to investigate seeds and seedlings, must look to the future.

===>>>> contact your county Ag office or soil conservation district.. many offer spring sales of 2 or 3 year saplings in a variety of plants.. CHEAP ... like less than a buck a piece ... see link.. though i see no info on tree sales ...

musser forest is also a great source of small cheap trees .. google that name

stay away from planting a monoculture of replacements ....

good luck

ken

Here is a link that might be useful: link

Do you know which ash tree species you have?

I believe Green, Black and White are native to your area.

Green and Black go first...then White, then Blue.

They will ALL go but if you have a mix it won't be this rapid die-off. Plant your sapplings one year at a time. Good luck with the rebuild!

I just removed a 40' Green Ash as I knew I didn't want to invest in the tree. EAB first discovered in WI 15 miles away from me. I'll be doing my part and planting 30 trees in its place on my litte half acre.

Second the explicit call for leaving some standing dead for habitat, much better than my less clear You likely have several years before there is a hazard created above.

Dan

Thanks for the replies.

I will leave many standing dead trees for wildlife habitat. (I already do, we'll just have a lot more soon.)This is a woods, so falling trees are unlikely to injure anyone. They are far enough away from the house.

I do not know if my ash are green, black, white or blue. I will research.