ALEJANDRO BUSTOS / STAFF REPORTER / TORONTO STAR
Approximately 7,000 trees will be cut down in Toronto and Vaughan in an attempt to stop the ongoing Asian long-horned beetle infestation.
The massive felling, which follows the removal of more than 16,000 trees over the past two years, is set to start Aug. 22 in three areas in Vaughan and one in Toronto.
"This is a very serious forest pest that poses a great risk to Canada's hardwood forests by killing a wide range of hardwood trees," said Howard Stanley, a spokesman for the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. "The Asian long-horned beetle must be eradicated."
Stanley rejected suggestions the beetle infestation is expanding. "The population hasn't grown over the year. In fact, these may be the remains of the original 2003 population."
After living in a tree for about two years, the bluish-black beetle burrows out to mate. So, many of the recently spotted beetles may not be new insects but rather mature ones that emerged from trees that weren't previously cut, said Richard Ubbens, director of forestry for the City of Toronto.
When asked why some of the trees infested in 2003 had not been cut, he said, "It's not possible to find every tree (infected with beetle eggs) because the eggs are very hard to find."
To ensure that all trees that could become infested are removed this time, it will be necessary to cut down all host trees within 400 metres of one found with the beetles.
A host tree refers to any species — such as maple, willow, elm, birch and poplar — where the beetles can live.
Once the trees are removed, however, municipalities must pay to replace some of them.
It costs Vaughan about $350 to replace each tree on city streets, with the federal government covering $150.
Vaughan has so far replaced about 1,000 trees at a cost to the city of $200,000.
The trees that will be chopped down in Vaughan won't be replaced until the fall of 2006.
In contrast, the cost to replant in Toronto is $150 because the city uses trees with thinner trunks that make them easier to plant.
The three sites in Vaughan slated for tree removals are a cemetery near Steeles Ave. and Jane St.; a commercial area south of Highway 7, west of Weston Rd.; and a residential area north of Chancellor Dr., east of Ansley Grove Rd.
The Toronto site is in a predominantly residential area north of Finch Ave. and west of Jane St.
All the locations are within a "containment zone," where officials are keeping a close watch for the beetles.
A wider boundary outside the zone — from Highway 401 to Rutherford Rd. and Highway 27 to Dufferin St. — encompasses the "regulated area," where no wood products can be transported without a permit.(*)
