Local money available to remove ash trees

6/27/2013

Communities in Lucas, Wood, Fulton, Ottawa, and several other parts of northern Ohio are eligible for new federal grant money to remove dead and dying ash trees along public rights-of-way. Applications must be submitted to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources’ forestry division before the close of business on July 29.

Some $300,000 has been authorized. Other area counties eligible for funding include Hancock, Erie, Hardin, Henry, Defiance, Allen, Huron, Paulding, Putnam, Sandusky, Seneca, Van Wert, Williams, and Wyandot.

The Ohio DNR said it considers dying or dead ash trees to be safety hazards when they are in public rights-of-way. The trees can die quickly and become brittle when infested by the emerald ash borer, an invasive beetle from China that was found in suburban Detroit in 2002 and Ohio two years later.