Starting July 28th, 2020  representatives from Manitoba Forestry will be around Town surveying Elm trees for any signs of Dutch Elm Disease. For more information please continue below:

“These surveys require that inspectors, who usually work in pairs, visually inspect every property in the community. This means that crews will drive slowly (10 km/hr) down each street and back lane looking for wood or trees. Properties that cannot be easily seen from roads or back lanes will be surveyed by foot (i.e. riverbank properties). The crews have binoculars and may use them to look at the crowns of trees for DED symptoms, or they may use them to look at firewood piles. Inspectors wear high visibility vests that say “Manitoba Forestry” on the back. The vehicles have signs that say “Manitoba Conservation” or “Sustainable Development”.

Under The Forest Health Protection Act, inspectors and officers may enter upon private property for the purpose of inspection without permission from the property owner. The inspectors will attempt to talk to the property owner first by knocking on the door, but if no one answers, the crew will proceed with an inspection of the property. If someone is available, the crew will explain the program and their reason for inspection. The inspectors will have identification with them that shows that they are inspectors under the Act.

In the process of determining if a tree has DED, inspectors may have to take a sample from the tree using pole pruners to look for a characteristic stain under the bark.

If elm wood or DED infected trees are found on the property, the inspectors will make a record of the detection, mark the material with orange tree marking paint, fasten a metal tag to the material, and leave a letter at the property.”