More than 7,000 elms felled in Winnipeg last year due to disease

Winnipeg Free Press

2 days ago

A city report reveals elm trees were chopped down more than expected last year due to Dutch elm disease.
The report, prepared for Friday's community services committee meeting, indicates the city had a 3.4 per cent loss rate of American elms due to the disease in 2024, resulting in 6,616 trees being tagged for removal. The target average annual loss rate is two per cent.
Winnipeg is home to the largest American elm population of any city in North America, with more than 194,000 elms scattered across the city, but they're all at risk of the disease.
BROOK JONES/FREE PRESS
Urban Foresty worker Trevor Viznaugh, 42, points to an elm tree that has been tagged for removal, as the City of Winnipeg's Urban Forestry Branch removes American elm trees along Downing Street in an effort to fight Dutch elm disease.
'It has always been a concern,' said Martha Barwinsky, the city forester. 'If the disease goes unchecked, then that's a big problem.'
The report revealed the elm tree population would be completely dispatched in no more than 20 years if its Dutch elm disease maintenance program were discontinued.
The disease is caused by a fungus that slowly wilts the leaves of the tree, eventually turning them a brownish colour. It stops the transportation of water throughout the tree's vascular system.
'It's unlikely the tree survives once it's infected with DED,' said Barwinsky of the disease that was detected in Winnipeg 50 years ago. 'Each elm responds differently. Some trees will succumb to the disease and die very quickly, even within a month of being infected, and some may die the same year or the following year, but it is terminal.'
In total, 7,026 American elms were removed under the program in 2024, with 3,000 of those being on boulevards and park properties. Tree removal comes with a high price tag, though.
Barwinsky said eliminating one tree costs more than $1,000, on average. The city has spent approximately $172 million over the last 50 years to management Dutch elm.
Since May, Barwinsky said more than 20 surveillance members have been searching for signs of the disease. She said neighbourhoods in Sargent Park and Daniel McIntyre have been affected the most.
'That whole region of the city has had a significant number of elms removed,' Barwinsky said. 'If you drive up and down some of those streets, you'll see spot after spot of trees having been removed.'
She said the best way to prevent the spread of DED is to remove infected trees right after they are discovered, but doing that more than 6,000 times each year within such a short period of time is nearly impossible.
'It's a challenge to be that timely because you have to identify the tree, then go back to visit them to see how much the disease has progressed, then identify those, and then get the logistics for the operations to remove the tree,' Barwinsky said.
The native elm bark beetle spreads the fungus by transferring the spores from its body onto the tree where it's been feeding in the spring.
DED is also caused by elm firewood because it serves as a breeding ground for the beetles. The insects lay their eggs in the elm firewood, creating a new batch of beetles.
Barwinsky said surveillance crew search for elm firewood on properties and if they find any, they mark down the pieces for disposal. Property owners receive a notice that they have to dispose of that material within two weeks and then provide the city with evidence they've disposed of the material.
She encourages people to check their homes for potential elm firewood to help protect the trees in the neighbourhood.
Ian Dyck, a city planner for M Richard Associates and a volunteer on the Wolseley tree committee, warned about the impact of the disease on the community.
Wednesdays
A weekly dispatch from the head of the Free Press newsroom.
'People won't realize how much of an impact trees have until they're gone. They take them for granted,' Dyck said. 'Our urban forest is like 25 per cent elm trees, and they're all endangered. You can just drive around and it's a pretty eye-opening experience.'
The 27-year-old said he joined the committee to help raise funds for Wolseley Avenue and Westminster Avenue, which lose an average of 20 elm trees per year.
The committee created a GoFundMe page last month to help inoculate elm trees with a fungicide that will provide up to three years of immunity. Dyck said it costs around $700 to inoculate one tree and that the goal is to raise $100,000.
'The city underfunded urban forestry for years and years. This crisis kind of kept creeping up, and now it's a epidemic. It's terrifying.'
[e-mail]