Wheaton Boosts Budget to Ax Infested Ash Trees

The Wheaton City Council is directing more money toward the removal of trees and stumps damaged by the emerald ash borer, the Chicago Tribune reports.

According to the Tribune, the City Council voted unanimously Monday to increase funding for the effort. The council approved a contract for as much as $51,000 with Family Landscaping, effectively adding that amount to the $300,000 budgeted for tree and stump removal in the coming year.

Wheaton began its fight in 2008 with the emerald ash borer, an invasive beetle whose larvae attack the part of ash trees that carry water and nutrients throughout the trunk and branches, effectively causing the trees to starve to death.

Officials told the  the Tribune the city’s forestry division has been removing about 200 trees a year ever since, dropping the tree population in Wheaton’s parks from about 6,500 to 5,700.