JULY 10, 2023:
The Fort Pierre City Council has approved a plan for protecting or replacing the town’s ash trees against the emerald ash borer.
Mayor Gloria Hanson says property owners can receive up to three vouchers to buy trees suitable to this area’s climate to replace ash trees taken out of the boulevard or the city’s right-of-way.
Public Works Director Rick Hahn says treatment of ash trees meeting specified requirements will be allowed.
Ron Schreier with the Fort Pierre Arbor Board says only one type of treatment will be allowed.
Hahn says treatment options won’t be looked into until the invasive pest is found much closer to Fort Pierre than it currently has been.
Hahn says there is a minimum size recommendation of the tree being removed in order to be eligible for a voucher to replace it. He says once an ash tree is removed, the replacement tree cannot be planted in the city right-of-way unless the city grants permission.
JUNE 6, 2023:
In anticipation of the eventual arrival of the invasive and highly destructive emerald ash borer, the Fort Pierre City Council has approved a voucher plan for removing some of the town’s ash trees.
Public Works Director Rick Hahn says the vouchers are connected to the removal of ash trees from the boulevard or the city’s right-of-way.
Hahn says there is a minimum size recommendation of the tree being removed in order to be eligible for a voucher to replace it.
Hahn says once an ash tree is removed, the replacement tree cannot be planted in the city right-of-way unless the city grants permission…. prompting this dialogue between Hahn, Alderman Larry Cronin and Mayor Gloria Hanson.
As far as people wanting to treat ash trees for emerald ash borer rather than replacing them, Hanson says Fort Pierre isn’t ready for that– yet.
Initially, each property is eligible to receive three vouchers.
Around 40% of the trees on public spaces in Fort Pierre are ash trees.
Below is a list of recommended trees suitable for the climate and soils in Fort Pierre.
Fort Pierre Arbor Board Recommended Tree Species
Small to Mid-Size Trees – Deciduous:
Buckeye (Autumn Splendor)
Serviceberry (Autumn Brilliance)
Hawthorne (Crataegus grusgalli or similar)
Amur and Tatarian Maple (Acer ginnala and tatarcum)
Hotwings Maple (Acer tataricum ‘GarAnn’)
Flowering Crabapples (Malus; Spring Snow and Prairiefire)
Quaking Aspen (Populus tremuloides)
Prairie Gold Aspen (Populus tremuloides)
Korean Sun Pear Westwood (Pyrus fauriei)
Large Trees – Deciduous:
Three Flower Maple (Acre triflorum)
Redmond and American Sentry Linden (Tilia Americana Redmond and McSentry) also known as Basswood
Bur and White Oak (Quercus macrocarpa and alba)
Crimson Spire Oak (Quercus ‘Crimschmidt’)
Common Hackberry (Celtis Occidentalis)
Honeylocust, thornless (Gleditisia triacanthos form inermis)
Plains Cottonwood (Populus Deltopids)
Birch Renaissance Oasis (Betula papyrifera)
Large Trees – Coniferous:
Black Hills Spruce – (Picea Glauca var. densata)
Meyer Spruce – (Picea meyeri)
Ponderosa Pine – (Pinus ponderosa)
Eastern Red Cedar – (Juniperus virginiana)
Rocky Mountain Juniper – (Juniperus scopulorum or similar varity like Welchii)
Other:
Ginko (Male only)
Kentucky Coffee Tree, Prairie Titan – Expresso & Skinny Latte
Elm, Discovery Japanese or Northern Express
Catalpa
MAY 16, 2023:
The Fort Pierre City Council has again axed a plan for removing the town’s ash trees and replacing them with different species to reduce the impact when the invasive emerald ash borer arrives in the area.
Council President Todd Bernhard says the current plan would provide guidance.
Alderman Larry Cronin doesn’t think the current plan is workable…. yet.
Cronin wants the emerald ash borer mitigation plan to go back through the Arbor Board and the Park and Rec Committee, prompting this exchange between Larry Cronin and Director of Public Works Rick Hahn.
The Fort Pierre City Council will discuss the ash tree removal and replacement plan for a fourth time during their first meeting in June (June 5, 2023).
Around 40% of the trees on public spaces in Fort Pierre are ash trees.
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