Citizens committee takes steps to save Cherokee Triangle's ash trees from beetles - Louisville, KY

Citizens committee takes steps to save Cherokee Triangle's ash trees from beetles | The Courier-Journal | courier-journal.com

Monica Orr of the Cherokee Triangle compares the invasion of the dreaded emerald ash borer tree beetle to a curtain descending.

“Nobody is spared,” said Orr, a member of the Cherokee Triangle Association's tree committee. “It's very depressing.”

Orr and other committee members are working to preserve, protect and restore the historic neighborhood's lush tree canopy, and they're paying particular attention to ash trees — which are vulnerable to damage and destruction by the tiny beetles.

The neighborhood started the effort initially to address damage from the 2008 windstorm and 2009 ice storm, as well as the loss of trees resulting from the natural aging process. Trees contribute to the area's character “just as much as the houses do,” tree committee member James Millar said.