Ash Trees

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One thing you may notice as you are looking into the naturally wooded areas of the park is a number of dead or dying Ash trees. Unfortunately these trees have been attacked by the Emerald Ash Borer, an invasive beetle thought to have been inadvertently introduced into North America from Asia in 2002. The Ash Borer larvae chew through the bark and eat the vascular tissues of the tree, eventually killing it. Infested trees have a 99% mortality rate (Herms & McCullough, 2014). . Nearly one in 10 trees in Ohio are Ash trees, so there will be potentially big impacts on our forests in the future Felton, 2017). The Mason Parks department is removing dying Ash trees that could pose a hazard to the safety of people and structures but allowing others to decay naturally (D. Allen, Personal Communication, March 16, 2018). One bright spot is that the ash borer makes a great meal for native woodpeckers and the dead tree snags that remain make a great homes for the woodpeckers. Check out the video link taken in the park this winter.