What: Help us search for signs of the EAB on campus by peeling the bark from a sentinel ash tree.
When: 12:00 PM on September 27th
Where: Woods around the Hamlin-Powers trail.
Why / Context: The Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) has been identified in the Potsdam community. It is an invasive that will kill nearly 100% of the ash trees that it comes into contact with in North America. We have selected several ornamental trees on campus to treat with an injection pesticide in hopes of keeping the trees alive until the wave of EAB passes. This will hopefully leave us with a stock of mother trees on campus.
Last year Eric Parkman from the Grounds Department girdled one ash tree in the woods around the Hamlin-Powers trail. The campus Tree Committee and some engaged students requested this work. It is our sentinel tree. If there are EAB on campus they will have found and infested this tree. We are asking for students to come and help us peel the bark back from the dead tree and search for signs of the EAB.
Knowing when the EAB has arrived on campus will help us manage this disaster. The ash trees will die from the top down. They become brittle and dangerous to remove. Early removal from hazardous areas is safer and less expensive.