REGINA – The province of Saskatchewan says that Dutch elm disease (DED) is being held at bay in Saskatchewan, even though the number of diseased trees is up.
A survey completed by the provincial government shows that DED is still present in southeast Saskatchewan, but it has not spread to any other areas in the province.
The numbers of diseased trees is up from 2012 but that increase is being attributed to more communities taking part in the survey.
“It’s encouraging to see Saskatchewan communities working to protect the health of their urban forests,” said Environment Minister Ken Cheveldayoff.
“Finding and removing DED-infected trees helps limit tree losses in our communities by preventing the disease from spreading to healthy elms. This keeps our streets greener, and reduces tree removal and replanting costs over the long term.”
A total of 214 trees were marked for removal in the province this year and the province will remove the trees during fall and winter.
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