Firewood being collected and stored on private residential property found as part of one of the city's surveys in 2021. (Tim Yeaman/City of Prince Albert)

By Nick Nielsen

Think again before pruning your trees

Dutch Elm Disease found in Prince Albert

Oct 8, 2024 | 12:00 PM

The threat of Dutch Elm Disease is something that cities around Saskatchewan have to monitor or they run the risk of the disease running rampant through their elm tree population.

While Prince Albert hasn’t dealt with Dutch Elm Disease in the past, one case of the disease was found in a survey of the city’s trees in 2023, meaning the disease is here and it’s something to be monitored even if there were no trees found with the disease this year.

Tim Yeaman is the parks and open spaces manager with the City of Prince Albert, and he shared in a statement the city is working with a third party organization, Living Tree Environmental, since 2021 to conduct two surveys per year on the trees in the city. The surveys take place in July and August, and they include all American Elm Trees in the city whether they are on private or residential land.

“We are aware that it is no longer a question of ‘if’ as much as ‘when’ we will start to see more cases of DED pop up here in the city and our team is committed to continued DED surveys and working with the community to communicate, educate in our efforts to protect our Urban Forest and the American elm found throughout the city. I would have to say that our elm makes up roughly about 15-20 per cent of our Urban Forest with the other mixture being ash, Manitoba maple, spruce.”

One tree was found in Prince Albert during the 2023 surveys and was removed, but another six trees in the city were found and removed with a condition similar to DED called Dothiorella Wilt. The two diseases have the same result through different means. DED will clog a tree’s water conducting system while Dothiorella Wilt will cause similar symptoms at a slower rate, and in both cases eventually the tree will wilt and die.

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In comparison, the City of Melfort found over 100 trees in the city affected by DED this year.

DED is spread by three variants of the elm bark beetle that carry a microfungi that can infect trees with the disease. It’s a big reason why proper storage of elm wood is a big deal and why pruning of elm trees is only allowed during certain months of the year. The beetles that spread the disease are most attracted to the trees when they are freshly cut, and they are also most active during warm temperatures, which is why the province only allows for pruning of elm trees in the time between August 31 through the winter until April 1.

For Dothiorella Wilt, the disease moves slower through a tree’s vascular system but spreads through spores released into the air through wounds in leaves and young branches.

If you have an elm tree on your property that you think could be used for firewood, think again. Storing, selling, and transport of elm firewood is illegal in Saskatchewan, and the City of Prince Albert found a total of 19 violations in the city of stored elm wood in the city in 2024. Still, Yeaman said that the city is not looking to punish people storing wood who may not know they have even done something wrong and potentially harmful to the city’s ecosystem.

“The city would also encourage property owners who are storing elm firewood that you remove it immediately from your property and take it to the city landfill (free) and have it buried out there – this is the only safe and approved way to dispose of it.”

As of now, the City of Prince Albert is doing maintenance on the elm trees in the city now that the ban on pruning is out of season.

“The City Forestry Crew has been working hard since September 1 on elm pruning at the South Hill Cemetery and will continue their efforts while the pruning ban has been lifted (Sept 1 – May 31) to look at other highly populated areas of elm around the city to complete any necessary pruning.”

The city encourages property owners with any questions or concerns about elm trees on their property to call the city’s solution hub at 306-953-4884.

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Nick.nielsen@pattisonmedia.com