Emerald ash borer in Minneapolis

It was only a matter of time before the emerald ash borer, an invasive beetle that has the potential to wipe out all of Minnesota's ash trees, would cross the border from St. Paul into Minneapolis. The Minnesota Department of Agriculture confirmed yesterday that the pest had indeed been found in the Prospect Park neighborhood of Minneapolis, a mile or so from the St. Anthony Park neighborhood of St. Paul where it was spotted last year.

Tree Trust's administrative office is just minutes away from these sites of infestation, and the impending possibility of losing all 200,000 of the Twin Cities' ash trees echoes the crisis that sparked the creation of our organization: the devastation caused by Dutch elm disease in the 1970s. Tree Trust's founders responded to that crisis by training and paying un- and under-employed individuals to reforest our communities.

Today, our Green Futures initiative is poised to respond to the threat of emerald ash borer by getting new trees in the ground before the pest destroys the Twin Cities' ash trees. You can help us plant tomorrow's trees today with a donation to Green Futures, and your money will go even further thanks to a dollar-for-dollar match from a local family foundation that helped us launch the initiative.

Please remember: don't transport firewood! Buy it where you burn it to help slow the spread of emerald ash borer.

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