Don’t wait, cut your ash trees now

The newest insect scourge threatening New England trees has recently appeared in the Tri-state region. The emerald ash borer, as its name implies, devastates ash trees, which make up about 5 percent of the state’s forests (and possibly more in the Northwest Corner).

The ash borer destroys the sugar and water transport in the trees, according to Christian Allyn, who is not only a selectman in North Canaan but is also an expert in the war against the invasive species threatening the trees (and animals) that are so beloved of area residents.

The insect also destroys the structural integrity of the trees, creating a major hazard.

“They can collapse,” Allyn warned.

This is the moment, he said. People need to cut those ash trees down before they fall and potentially ruin property — but also, and equally important, before they become a host to these fast-spreading bugs.

“We are in the quarantine area now,” he said, according to the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and the state’s Agricultural Experiment Station in Windsor.

The ash borers have been seen here in Litchfield County but so far they haven’t become widespread.

If the insects are allowed to spread, the ash trees will disappear from the landscape, either because they will be killed by the infestation or because landowners will have to cut down every ash in the area and the wood will have to be destroyed. 

“If you cut them now,” Allyn said, “they can still be used for timber.”

He suggests contacting one of the area’s many licensed foresters for advice.

It can be done at any time of the year, but Allyn advises that it’s often easier for loggers to cut the trees when they are dormant.

“Then they don’t have to deal with foliage, and it’s easier for the logging equipment to get in and out of the property.”

But, Allyn warns, the ash can not be transported across state lines to be used as firewood — timber is OK, if it’s been cut by a licensed forester, who can tell if the tree has been infected. 

For anyone who’s curious and would like to do a quick check of their backyard trees, look for a d-shaped hole in the side of the trunk. 

Property owners should also know that there is another disease called ash yellows infecting area trees. 

“With ash yellows, the leading branches will die and small shoots will develop. Those shoots are a sign that the vascular system of the tree is being compromised.”

The outlook isn’t good for these lovely alligator-barked trees. One way or another, they’re going to disappear in the near term in the county.

The incentive for cutting them down before they die is altruistic, Allyn said.

“You’re preventing the insect from migrating farther north, into Vermont, and possibly saving a unique genotype.”

The genotype is the DNA of these particular ash trees and it helps them survive in New England (as opposed to other parts of the world, where ash trees have a slightly different genetic makeup).

“We’re trying to save the Vermont ashes so we have the localized genetic code to work with, so someday in the future the ashes can be replanted in Connecticut,” said Allyn, who has been working since he was in high school on helping revive chestnut trees in the area. The chestnuts had disappeared from area forests in the early 1900s. 

Allyn has been working with Falls Village’s Ellery Sinclair to reintroduce a new disease-resistant version of the chestnut here. And he’s been working with North Canaan’s Tom Zetterstrom to bring back the elms that used to be such a dominant part of the village landscapes here.

It’s a hard time to be an ash tree. But, Allyn said, if we act fast there is hope for the future.