City forester explains the city plans to monitor and treat trees after confirmation of emerald ash borer

FARGO, N.D. (KVRR) — Emerald ash borer larvae was recently confirmed on the east side of the downtown Fargo public library. It wasn’t a big surprise because the pest was detected in Moorhead in 2023.

“We finally confirmed it. We kind of already expected it to be here, but it just took us till today to actually get it confirmed,” said Scott Liudahl, City Forester.

Since the pest was discovered in Moorhead, Fargo has been treating hundreds of trees each year. But now that the bug is in Fargo, the city plans to provide more education about treatments and planting other kinds of trees.

“We’re still going to be treating that 500-plus trees for now. We’ve got time. And we’re also going to be very, very aggressive still with our diversification efforts. That is still the key. And some of these neighborhoods that are over sixty percent ash, that is still the number one thing to pursue is mixing that neighborhood up with non-ash varieties just to diversify,” said Liudahl.

In the coming days, the city will partner with the Department of Agriculture, NDSU, and the North Dakota Forest Service to determine the extent of the infestation, monitor other ash trees, and conduct outreach in the coming months. Liudahl said the removal of the trees is more than likely, but the ones around the corner will be monitored.

“We will look at those on a case-by-case basis. And widen our treatment options for right away trees in certain locations. Even those are right around the corner from where these two trees, one tree was especially confirmed,” said Liudahl.

Treatment of the trees within a 15-mile perimeter will start in June.

For more information about the emerald ash borer, what to look for in ash trees, and possible treatments, you can find it here.