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1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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2 | WHEREAS, The State of Illinois comprises part of the | ||||||
3 | largest urban landscape market in
the country with more than 4 | ||||||
4 | million urban ash trees; Illinois' tree canopy now faces a | ||||||
5 | crisis
due to the Emerald Ash Borer, and that will lead to a | ||||||
6 | financial crisis for the State and its many
municipalities; and | ||||||
7 | WHEREAS, Mature trees provide homeowners and | ||||||
8 | municipalities tremendous
environmental and economic benefits; | ||||||
9 | trees reduce energy costs in the summer, play a role
in | ||||||
10 | rainwater management, and filter air; trees represent a | ||||||
11 | quantifiable value to homeowners; conservatively 5 percent of a | ||||||
12 | home's value is attributable to the trees on its property; and | ||||||
13 | WHEREAS, The State of Illinois is now infested with the | ||||||
14 | invasive species known as
Emerald Ash Borer (EAB); most all | ||||||
15 | urban ash trees in the State of Illinois will be exposed
to EAB | ||||||
16 | in the next 5 years and every ash tree not treated will expire | ||||||
17 | shortly thereafter;
and | ||||||
18 | WHEREAS, The average cost of tree removal and replacement | ||||||
19 | in the State of Illinois is
approximately $1,000; this crisis | ||||||
20 | will cost the State and its villages, towns, and cities $3
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21 | billion to $4 billion over the next several years; and |
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1 | WHEREAS, Trees can be treated for a fraction of the cost of | ||||||
2 | removal and replacement; and | ||||||
3 | WHEREAS, The State of Illinois needs to update its | ||||||
4 | understanding of the science of treating
EAB, as integrated | ||||||
5 | management of EAB has evolved and improved greatly in the past | ||||||
6 | 5 years; and
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7 | WHEREAS, Leading academic researchers from The University | ||||||
8 | of Illinois, Michigan State
University, Purdue University and | ||||||
9 | Ohio State have found insecticide treatment methods to
be | ||||||
10 | effective, and one treatment method to be extremely effective | ||||||
11 | at preserving ash trees; and
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12 | WHEREAS, The Society of Municipal Arborists (SMA), the | ||||||
13 | prestigious professional organization of practicing arborists, | ||||||
14 | published in May 2012 its latest findings and recommendations | ||||||
15 | on the management of the Emerald Ash Borer; the SMA paper warns | ||||||
16 | municipalities of a "financial tsunami" if they are not | ||||||
17 | proactive and develop an EAB management paper; and | ||||||
18 | WHEREAS, The SMA found that the 2 extremes of removing | ||||||
19 | trees and doing nothing is neither practical nor prudent; | ||||||
20 | removing trees is not financially viable for many | ||||||
21 | municipalities and does great harm to home values; doing | ||||||
22 | nothing puts people and property at great risk as dead trees |
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1 | will come crashing down in an unpredictable fashion; and
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2 | WHEREAS, The SMA found that an integrated approach that | ||||||
3 | utilizes treatment along with the removal of low-grade ash | ||||||
4 | trees is the best management option; and
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5 | WHEREAS, The International Society Arboriculture, the | ||||||
6 | premier tree care organization in the world, supports the | ||||||
7 | findings and recommendations of the SMA that advocates | ||||||
8 | conservation of the urban ash canopy as the most prudent and | ||||||
9 | practical management option; therefore, be it
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10 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | ||||||
11 | NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
12 | we urge every village, town, and city within the State of | ||||||
13 | Illinois to reevaluate its EAB management plan in light of the | ||||||
14 | latest facts and recommendations presented by the leading | ||||||
15 | experts in the spring of 2012; specifically, municipalities | ||||||
16 | should spend the little time required to evaluate EAB | ||||||
17 | management options over a 20-year period utilizing readily | ||||||
18 | available and online economic models from either University of | ||||||
19 | Wisconsin-Stevens Point or Purdue University; and be it further
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20 | RESOLVED, That the Illinois Department of Agriculture | ||||||
21 | should publicly communicate and include on its website | ||||||
22 | http://www.agr.state.il.us the 2012 EAB Management approach |
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1 | and explain the financial and environmental benefits to | ||||||
2 | municipalities, citizens, and homeowners of that same | ||||||
3 | approach.
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