In an effort to protect its trees from the destructive emerald ash borer, the Village of Homer Glen plans to apply for a competitive grant this month to survey ash trees on village property.
“If we have infestation, we certainly want to stop the spread of this,” said Trustee Margaret Sabo in a recent interview.
The native-Asian, metallic-green-colored beetle, discovered in the U.S. in 2002 and Illinois in 2006, “could wipe out the ash tree species in North America” if not controlled, according to the Illinois Department of Agriculture’s website on the emerald ash borer.
Only two months ago, the beetle –– previously found in New Lenox and Orland Park –– was reported in neighboring Lemont. While Homer Glen has received no reports so far, the village is in a quarantined area, susceptible to infestation, officials said.
The number of ash trees in the village, which up until recently was a “very popular tree,” is unknown, Sabo said.
“We have no idea how many there are,” Homer Glen Development Services Director Mike Salamowicz said in a recent interview.
The beetle only affects ash trees and not other trees such as evergreens, Salamowicz said.
The village this month plans to apply for the Illinois technical assistance grant, provided through the U.S. Department of Agriculture and administered by the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus, officials said.
The $1,000 to $20,000 grant, if received, could provide Homer Glen with funding to inventory the number of ash trees on village property, including parks and right-of-way land, and check the condition of the ash trees. The depth of the survey would depend on the grant amount, Salamowicz said. The village expects to be notified if it has received the grant in late February, he said.
Homer Glen applied for the first time last year and ranked high but did not receive the grant, officials said. The grant, which the village hopes to receive this time, is provided based on need and the villages’ designation as a Tree City USA, which makes receiving the grant more likely, officials said.
Competition for the grant, however, is “very keen,” Sabo said.
Neighboring Lemont is considering applying for the same grant for the first time, among other options. It was notified in November that about 30 trees on a private residence were infested with the emerald ash borer, Lemont Assistant Village Administrator George Schafer said in a recent interview. It was the first time that the beetle was reported in Lemont, Schafer said. The private property has been quarantined for further testing, Schafer said.
Lemont has been taking inventory of its more than 2,000 village-owned ash trees for three or four years and has prohibited the planting of ash trees with new development for the past two or three years, in an effort to prevent infestation, Schafer said.
