Golf course maintenance is winding down across the north-central tier of the U.S., and now is a good time to plan an aggressive tree-management strategy for this winter, especially for courses that have a significant population of ash trees. The emerald ash borer is devastating trees in the Chicagoland area as this pest continues to migrate outward from southeastern Michigan. Smart golf facilities are trying to mitigate the economic impact of removing dead trees in the future by selectively removing unnecessary and poor-quality ash trees now, before the arrival of the emerald ash borer triggers quarantines that will make log and wood chip disposal far more difficult and costly.
Source: Bob Vavrek ( rvavrek@usga.org)
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