PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • June 8, 2024
The emerald ash borers, a species of beetle, has been decimating New England’s ash trees for years and is killing hundreds of trees in Portland. Mark Reiland, the city arborist, estimated there are 600 ash trees in the city and most of them are infected. In the next five years, he said about 500 will have to come down. “Unfortunately there are entire streets we’ll have to clear cut,” he said. The city had tried to save some trees last spring by injecting insecticide into their trunks in an effort to kill the beetles, but the treatment wasn’t as successful as they hoped. As the ash trees come down, a variety of new tree species will go up.