The state has a plan in the works to clear cut ash trees in the potentially affected areas. Anxiety regarding the arrival of the pest and the threat to the state’s 717 million ash trees has hit area nurseries, and is likely to grow if drastic tree removal steps occur.

The impact on the nurseries could be severe: Ash tree sales could collapse and homeowners might be forced to invest in new trees to replace those they’ve paid to remove.

Ash trees make up about 30% of the inventory for most Wisconsin nurseries, with another 30% devoted to maple and the remainder to other trees, said Gary McHugh, president of New Berlin-based Trees on the Move, which offers landscaping, tree transplanting and nursery services.

Some of the demand for ash trees is already diminished and the impact is taking its toll on area businesses even before the bug arrives.

“Everybody is cutting back,” McHugh said. “The ash market dropped off significantly. We are very depleted. We saw that last year on our commercial projects, that municipalities are literally banning any ash trees from being brought into their communities.”

Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel