Ash tree removal in Chain of Lakes Regional Park Please respect Forestry workers and follow rerouted trails while ash tree removal occurs

Ash tree removal in Chain of Lakes Regional Park

Please respect Forestry staff and follow rerouted trails while ash tree removal occurs

Trail users in Chain of Lakes Regional Park may have noticed minor rerouting around areas where Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) Forestry staff are removing ash trees.

Work started in Bde Maka Ska Park, then it will move to Lake Harriet Park and Lake of the Isles Park. Please respect Forestry staff and followed the rerouted trails while ash tree removal occurs. Rerouted trails only stay in place while work is performed and typically do not last for more than a few hours.

Canopy Replacement Plan

The Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) is an invasive beetle that is killing ash trees in Minneapolis. All ash trees will become infested with EAB and eventually die. The approaching loss of ash trees will cause a drastic change to the urban forest in Minneapolis

Once EAB was discovered in Minneapolis and its population began to increase, MPRB Forestry developed and implemented a Canopy Replacement Plan for Ash Trees that provides for the scheduled replacement of ash trees. This proactive replacement approach allows MPRB Forestry to replace the urban forest canopy with a diverse mix of tree types.

Waiting to remove ash trees until they become infested is not an option because the trees will die in such large numbers that will be impossible to keep up with removal and replacement. Proactively removing trees before they die reduces the risk of damage and injury caused by limbs falling from dead and dying ash trees.

This is the sixth year of the MPRB’s eight-year canopy replacement plan. This plan is not only our response to the emerald ash borer (EAB) infestation that is killing ash trees in Minneapolis; it’s also part of our overall mission is to ensure tree variety.