DRG Develops ‘Your Ash Is On The Line’ State-Wide EAB Project In Colorado

Colorado State Forest Service

In 2019, the Colorado State Forest Service (CSFS) received a Landscape Scale Restoration (LSR) Grant to increase resources for emerald ash borer (EAB) management. With this grant, CSFS partnered with Davey Resource Group to conduct tree inventories and assist with EAB public education and response.

Project Narrative:

Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) was first detected in Boulder County in 2013 and continues to expand into neighboring communities in the Front Range. In 2019, the Colorado State Forest Service (CSFS) received a Landscape Scale Restoration (LSR) Grant to expand on this foundation and increase resources for small and mid-sized communities in the region.

With this grant, CSFS hired DRG to develop materials and provide resources for all Colorado communities through the ‘Your Ash is on the Line’ project, including:

• Public Ash Tree Inventories in communities with less than 20,000 people. DRG collected data on 8,767 public ash trees in 36 communities.
• Assisting the EAB Response Team with defining their future role and facilitating the group’s expansion to include more smaller communities and green industry leaders.
• Conducting three wood utilization workshops to showcase the potential for urban wood utilization in Colorado and beyond.
• Developing an interactive online form for community members to answer a series of questions to produce an EAB Management Plan. This Plan can be downloaded and shared with communities and local leaders to define a community’s EAB management strategy.
• Producing an online resource that summarizes relevant information on EAB management for Colorado communities and directs users to additional external resources, such as Best Management Practices that include identification, treatment, removals, replacement, and wood utilization.

Spreading The Word

DRG completed the ‘Your Ash is on the Line’ project in mid-2022. The resources developed through this project were vital in aiding communities to mitigate the impact of EAB infestations on local tree populations and the greater urban forest.

Thanks to the efforts of the Colorado Tree Coalition (CTC) and the EAB Response Team, larger communities in Colorado are informed about the potential impacts of future EAB infestations likely to occur. The EAB Response Team will continue to promote cross-collaboration among community leaders, tree managers, and industry professionals for the common goal of eradicating EAB presence in Colorado communities.

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