Last August saw a single American elm tree in Maple Creek, Saskatchewan diagnosed as positive for Dutch elm disease (DED). Maple Creek is only 100 kilometers east of the City of Medicine Hat. Banded elm bark beetles (BEBB), believed to be a potential vector of DED, had been found for the past several years by the community’s elm bark beetle monitoring program.
In Alberta, the Society to Prevent Dutch Elm Disease (STOPDED) administers an elm bark beetle monitoring program in municipalities throughout the province. Since 2006, Banded elm bark beetles have been found in the southeast corner of Alberta in the municipalities of Medicine Hat, Irvine, Dunmore and Walsh. And the numbers being captured have been increasing annually.
DED is prevalent in Manitoba and Saskatchewan. It extends throughout the entire natural range of elms in Manitoba, spreading across the southern and central regions of the province from the Manitoba-Ontario border into Saskatchewan.
To help prevent the spread of the disease, Albertans can follow pruning guidelines, and by not transporting elm firewood into or around the province. More information on safe pruning and other precautions can be found on the STOPDED website at http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/deptdocs.nsf/all/prm4494
Source: Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development