By Jalen Maki
Tomahawk Leader Editor
TOMAHAWK – The City of Tomahawk may get some financial help in removing and replacing ash trees impacted by an invasive species.
During its meeting at City Hall on Tuesday, Sept. 26, the city’s Finance Committee approved a resolution giving City Clerk/Treasurer Amanda Bartz the go-ahead to apply for an Urban Forestry Grant, offered by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR).
Streets Department Leadperson Nick Rosenmeier explained that the city will be spending money to take down trees affected by emerald ash borer (EAB), an invasive wood-boring beetle that kills ash trees by eating the tissues under the bark, and plant new trees of a different species in their place. The grant, a 50/50 match with a maximum match of $25,000.00, would assist the city in this undertaking.
City crews began removing ash trees earlier this year. In June, Rosenmeier said eventually all of Tomahawk’s roughly 300 ash trees “will be gone” due to EAB.
The resolution was unanimously approved by the Finance Committee and, later in the evening, the City of Tomahawk Common Council.
A timeline regarding when the city would be notified of an allocation of grant funds was not discussed, but the city’s portion of the grant match would be part of the city’s 2024 budget.
The City of Tomahawk previously received Urban Forestry Grant dollars in Nov. 2021, after a pair of severe summer thunderstorms damaged and toppled trees throughout the city and Bradley Park. Additional grant funds were allocated to Tomahawk and several other Wisconsin communities in Feb. 2022.
