04/03/2026
In February, a local Winnipeg arborist contacted City of Winnipeg officials regarding a symptomatic ash tree that met the criteria for Emerald Ash Borer infestation. Within a short period of time, those same officials positively identified 45 public trees, within close proximity, that were infected with the invasive species and would be removed to slow the progression of the beetles.
The Emerald Ash Borer, simply put, is a highly destructive, invasive beetle native to Asia that attacks and kills essentially all North American species of ash (excluding Blue Ash, which isn’t common in our hardiness zone, and this of the Sorbus genus, like Mountain Ash). Manchurian Ash have also shown resistance but are not spared when the infestation is large and established.
Even though Winnipeg had their first confirmed infected tree in 2017, the invasive beetle has remained under the radar until now. This new find is significant because it shows that the beetle is still present, it has spread from the original site, and its numbers are growing.
The City of Winnipeg’s Urban Forestry Department understood the importance of getting city, municipal, and government officials, as well private and municipal arborists together. The city partnered with the International Society of Arboriculture - Prairie Chapter and several other organizations and companies to put on this informative workshop. Those in attendance got to hear from Troy Kimoto (Canadian Food Inspection Agency), Dr. Richard Westwood (University of Winnipeg), city foresters, and others directly involved in the field.
The Manitoba Urban Forest Council is a community of tree people dedicated to protecting, maintaining and enhancing the urban forests in Manitoba. When our organization got word that Winnipeg had a sizeable conformation of the beetles return, we wanted to help in any way that we could. There were 7 of our 9 Board of Directors, as well as many of our organizations members in attendance. Being able to see the infected trees in person was invaluable. The 45 trees found to be infected are now being removed to limit the spread this spring.
Thank you to all those that organizers and presenters.
