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Emerald Ash Borer Park Point Quarantine – brush drop off site to open next week,

City also seeking input on Draft Emerald Ash Borer Management Plan

[Duluth, MN] – Early evidence of emerald ash borer (EAB) beetle was discovered in October on four trees in the Park Point area of Duluth. The City of Duluth has been tracking EAB with help from the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) for three years. A public meeting was held to address the public’s questions and concerns on December 10 with some specific outcomes:  1) a public review of the City’s Emerald Ash Borer Management Plan was needed; 2) the City planned to establish a brush drop off site on Park Point; and 3) the State has information and resources available to residents.

1)      The public can view the current Draft of the Emerald Ash Borer Management Plan at http://www.duluthmn.gov/media/418373/City-of-Duluth-EAB-Management-Plan-2015.pdf

           Comments are being accepted for the next 45 days on the draft EAB Management Plan at http://www.duluthmn.gov/parks/emerald-ash-borer/

Comments can also be sent via email to Dale Sellner, Parks Maintenance, at dsellner@duluthmn.gov

Once the public comments are compiled, that input and a revised EAB Management Plan will be presented to the Duluth Tree Commission. A public hearing will be scheduled in February and formal adoption of the Plan in March 2016.

2)      The City will be running a brush drop off site on Park Point, in the parking lot near the beach house, strictly for residents on the Point trimming or cutting back trees. The City will accept all types of brush at this site and will open the drop off site next Tuesday, December 22,  and run it every Tuesday, from 3:00-6:30 PM, which may be adjusted based on the need of residents.  This drop off is designated specifically for brush from within the Park Point area. The City urges people to not bring in brush from other areas of the city and encourages the public, outside the quarantine area, to use the compost site at the Western Lake Superior Sanitary District, http://wlssd.com/services/yard-waste/

Park Point residents are prohibited from removing any wood or wood parts off of the Point hence the need to contain wood products within the quarantined area.

3)      The MDA has extensive information for residents and a specially created hotline to pose questions or concerns about EAB. People can call Arrest the Pest, at 888-545-6684. The following web page was created with multiple resources available to the public. http://www.duluthmn.gov/parks/emerald-ash-borer/

The emergency quarantine is in effect until February when a formal quarantine will be implemented. The City thanks residents for their cooperation to prevent the progression of EAB to the broader city neighborhoods.

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