City of Wabasha plants 200 trees

The City of Wabasha Public Works Department has just finished planting 200 trees of 6 different varieties, with over 500 more trees to go. The City of Wabasha received a $33,343 grant from the DNR to plant trees in order to replace the 950 ash trees that had to be removed due to the Emerald Ash Borer Disease. This disease is from an invasive beetle from Asia that attacks and kills trees. Unfortunately, it has decimated almost all ash trees in Wabasha and across the Midwest.

“The Public Works Department is on pace to plant 50 to 100 trees per week later this fall and next year, if conditions are right,” according to Riley Costello, Assistant Public Works Director.

” When the City had to take down a number of trees, due to the diseases, you can tell how that changed the landscape of our parks and residences’ properties. We have a variety of species such as Elm, Locus, Linden, and  Crabapple trees that will take their place and hopefully restore what we unfortunately lost,” said Costello.

Tony Johnson, Public Works Director added, “ Trees increase our air pollution filtration, provide shade, and increase property value.  All trees have already been allocated for specific locations around town, If you get a tree on your boulevard, we ask the public to help us out by keeping the trees watered next spring.”

The Wabasha Kellogg Area Community Foundation also supported the purchase of some of these trees with a financial contribution to the City of Wabasha. If you would like to support more trees being planted in the City of Wabasha, you can donate to the City, with your gift being designated for “Wabasha Trees”.

(Photo by: City of Wabasha, Brady Wodele, Matt Wobbe)