A provincewide ban on pruning elm trees to prevent the spread of Dutch elm disease will start on Tuesday.
The beetles that are a carrier of the fungus can infect a healthy tree that’s been cut.
Preventive pruning of dead, damaged or diseased elm trees should be removed and properly disposed of prior to April 1.
Residents are asked to watch for symptoms of Dutch elm disease on trees in their neighbourhoods.
From mid-June through July, the leaves on infected trees will wilt, curl up and turn brown.
“We have a lot of elm trees here in the city. There are about 5,700 public elm trees and at least that many private elm trees as well,” said Anna Larney, City of Lethbridge urban forestry technician.
“It represents about 10 to 20 per cent of our total urban forest cover between public and private trees.
“If you think of the area around the hospital and Gyro Park, all of those big, beautiful trees that make the canopies over the streets are elm trees, so it’s those trees that we’re trying to protect from Dutch elm disease.”
The city says it’s also vital that firewood is not transported to and from the city as most invasive species can spread that way.
