{"id":62033,"date":"2018-05-22T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-05-22T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2018\/05\/22\/livegreen-emerald-ash-borer-reminder\/"},"modified":"2022-09-02T17:19:13","modified_gmt":"2022-09-02T22:19:13","slug":"livegreen-emerald-ash-borer-reminder","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2018\/05\/22\/livegreen-emerald-ash-borer-reminder\/","title":{"rendered":"LiveGreen: Emerald ash borer reminder"},"content":{"rendered":"

The emerald ash borer (EAB) was confirmed in Douglas and Cass counties in 2016, forcing quarantines and treatment zones in five Nebraska and two Iowa counties. <\/p>\n

It is an invasive beetle whose larvae bore into the layer of wood beneath the bark, which is responsible for water and nutrient movement in the tree. This eventually kills the tree. Once an area is infested, it’s estimated that 80 percent of ash trees will be killed in the first eight years.<\/p>\n

Omaha has an estimated 100,000 ash trees, all of which could be wiped out by an EAB infestation. This will remove 14 percent of Omaha’s tree canopy and change the landscape of our city, while increasing air-conditioning costs. To help spread awareness, the Omaha Parks Foundation and City of Omaha Forestry Division have participated in EAB Awareness Week for several years. Ironically, this is how the EAB was discovered. Several trees have been wrapped with bright emerald ribbons to show what’s at risk. This includes several trees on campus<\/a>. <\/p>\n

While we have a diverse species of trees on campus, almost every tree lining Emile and Farnam streets on the 42nd and Dewey campus are ash trees, including the trees the purple martins<\/a> use in their migration. Almost all of the trees lining Regency Parkway, Abbott Drive and along the streets of Memorial and Elmwood parks are ash trees. <\/p>\n

Not only will we lose the trees and the benefits they provide<\/a>, but removal of the dead trees will cost millions of dollars. EAB has killed hundreds of millions of ash trees in the U.S. since its discovery in 2002.<\/p>\n

So what can you do to stop the devastation?<\/p>\n