Invasive species forces the removal of North Bay ash trees

You may notice the North Bay Waterfront, Lee Park and out front of city hall looking a bit different this summer.

North Bay officials say they will be cutting down several ash trees that have been infested with emerald ash borer beetles.

"We're upset as anyone that we're losing all of these trees, on top of the fact that several years ago we lost a lot of the elm tree population in the city," said Mark Thomas, a supervisor with the city’s parks department.

"The plan it o do this in a two phase approach. Remove about half of them this year, then next year remove the remaining portion the next year."

There's also plans to plant lots of new diverse types of trees, including quite a few native trees.

"If something ever comes down the road again like a pest or a disease that it's not going to wipe out our entire parks population of trees, because they are generally selective to just a few species of trees," said Thomas.

"So, we're planning ahead so that hopefully this doesn't happen again."

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He told CTV News it is safe to assume that all ash trees in North Bay have been affected by the invasive species.

"The waterfront trees are all infected, and it's very likely every ash tree in North Bay at this point is infected, so it's just a matter of a few years until they're actually dead," said Thomas.