ASH TREE PROBLEMS Homeowners, cities bearing the costs

Ohio is getting fewer federal dollars for relief.
TOLEDO (AP) -- Homeowners with ash trees in their yards shouldn't count on the state to take down their trees if they are infested with the emerald ash borer.
And neither should cities.
A change in how Ohio will combat the tree-killing beetle means that the state is shifting the costs of cutting down, replacing and disposing of infested ash trees to land owners and local governments.
Up until now, the state has concentrated on cutting down trees around the edge of the ash borer outbreak in northwest Ohio and in isolated spots where it has been found. In doing so, crews removed thousands of trees at no cost to homeowners and cities.
But this year the federal government is giving Ohio far less than the $50 million Gov. Bob Taft asked for to combat the beetle. That forced the state to rethink its plans, the governor announced last week. So far the state has received just over $1 million.
"We need to balance our checkbook and make changes to best use our available resources," Taft said last week.
The state's plan is focused more on detecting where the ash borer has spread instead of trying to cut down ash trees and stay ahead of the infestation, said Melissa Brewer, a spokeswoman for the Ohio Agriculture Department.
Some tree cutting will still take place in isolated areas far from the heavily infested areas of northwest Ohio but it will be far less than before.
Indiana announced a similar strategy last month, saying it would no longer pay for or require the removal of ash trees in infested areas because it doesn't have enough money.
The same policy has been in place in Michigan where the ash pest was first found in the U.S. four years ago. The damage and costs to cities and homeowners has been much greater there.
How much
The price for removing two or three large ash trees can easily reach several thousand dollars. Some homeowners in Michigan have taken out a second mortgage just to pay for tree removal.
Cities there are also struggling with the costs. The pest has killed or infested 15 million trees in the state.
Ohio forestry officials are now urging cities in the state to start taking surveys of their ash trees and begin planning how they will pay for the removal of ash trees.
That's because most cities are not as prepared as they should be, said Drew Todd, urban forestry coordinator for the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. Some may not realize that the ash borer could be in their area already or moving closer, he said.
"They need to start acting now," Todd said. "We need to frighten them to the point where they're going to act."
Push for planning
Forestry officials plan to hold conferences and go out into communities this year to encourage more planning. Doing that now will allow cities to spread out the cost of removing the trees over several years rather than all at once when it infests a new area, Todd said.
Bowling Green has developed a plan to remove more than 600 ash trees that are on public property over the next eight years even though the ash borer has not been detected in the town.
The city removed 114 ash trees last year and replaced them with different trees, said Dave Bienemann, the city's arborist.
"Most cities will be on their own," he said. "Now is the time to go out and innovatory your ash trees and look at what the long-term cost will be and start figuring out how to pay for it."