Oregon Department of Forestry warns Talent to prepare for Emerald Ash Borer; city has 89 street ash trees

The Oregon Department of Forestry told the City of Talent on Feb. 5 that Emerald Ash Borer, an invasive beetle first detected in Oregon in 2022, threatens the city’s ash trees and that local officials should use their existing inventory and prepare response plans.

Kat Bethea, an urban and community forester with the Oregon Department of Forestry, said the insect "is an invasive and highly destructive wood boring beetle that infests and kills ash trees" and described how larvae feed under bark, cutting off nutrient flow and typically killing trees within three to six years after infestation.

The presentation outlined why municipalities should prepare now. Talent already maintains a street-tree inventory in the TreePlotter system that lists 89 ash trees, Bethea said, and that inventory is a key first step for planning which trees to remove, treat or leave in place. She said municipalities typically choose among three strategies for each ash tree: remove and replace, treat with systemic insecticide, or do nothing.

Bethea described how EAB spread across the U.S. after its first detection near Detroit in 2002 and noted the first Oregon detection in Forest Grove in 2022. She said federal and state quarantines restrict movement of ash material and that the state’s Emerald Ash Borer Readiness and Response Plan (updated in 2021) guides coordinated trapping, visual surveys and other preparedness measures.

On management specifics, Bethea said chemical treatment can be effective but must be administered by a licensed applicator and that one commonly used systemic product is emamectin benzoate. She said treatment effectiveness can reach as high as 95 percent when trees are treated at appropriate intervals and while trees are still healthy enough to respond. Treatment intervals typically range from one to three years, she said.

Bethea provided other operational guidance discussed with councilors: limit ash planting now (Braxinus is not on Talent’s approved street-tree list), create criteria to prioritize removals (size, condition, infrastructure risk), consider contracting with approved applicators for street-tree treatments, and plan for wood disposal. She said properly chipped material (pieces under about 1 inch by 1 inch) and removal during the nonflight period (Oct. 1–April 30) reduce the risk of moving viable beetles.

Bethea warned that municipal costs often spike in years seven to eight after local introduction if communities do not act, and she cited a case study from Ottawa showing large projected costs under a "do nothing" scenario. She added that a proactive management strategy can reduce peak costs and canopy loss.

Councilors and the mayor asked about environmental impacts of treatments, municipal pesticide policies, funding and regional coordination. Bethea said systemic trunk injections are more targeted than foliar sprays, described safeguards (for example, avoiding treatment within 3 feet of water), and pointed councilors to research and off-target-impact materials on the state EAB website, oregoneab.com. She said many municipalities that previously barred pesticides create narrow exemptions for EAB response or require use of an approved contractor.

On regional outreach, Bethea said Oregon’s task force and regional coordination exist and offered to share invites and resources with Talent. She noted the state also began seed-collection work and biological-control releases and that natural-area management will require choices similar to urban areas: treatment, removal and replacement, or monitored inaction.

Bethea closed by offering the city a communications template and the state’s web resources and by encouraging Talent to engage partners such as the local soil and water conservation district and county offices to coordinate restoration and mitigation efforts.

The study session included a question-and-answer period but no formal council motions or votes on EAB policy.