© 2025 Kansas City Public Radio
NPR in Kansas City
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Prairie Village Will Cut Down 100 Trees Due To Infestation

Wikimedia Commons

This fall, the city of Prairie Village, Kan., will remove 100 ash trees from city property due to Emerald Ash Borer infestation.

The Emerald Ash Borer is considered the most destructive forest pest in North America. Its larva bore into ash trees, cuts off nutrients and kills the tree.

Before 2002, the dime-size iridescent beetle had never been detected in North America. It’s predicted that the species arrived in ashwood used for stabilizing cargo.

Prairie Village Public Works Director, Keith Bredehoeft said Emerald Ash Borer infestation affects more than the 100 trees scheduled for removal. He said Prairie Village Public Works will eventually have to remove all 700 of its ash trees.

Bredehoeft said that if communities don’t address the infestation, five years after the beetle’s arrival the community will have a mass die off of trees. Prairie Village hopes to avoid that.

For now, the 100 trees scheduled for removal are those in the worst condition, or young trees 12 inches or less in diameter. As for ash trees on private property, Bredehoeft said it is almost inevitable they will die, and it’s up to homeowner when to remove them.

Eradicating Emerald Ash Borer entirely from will take at least four years and over $150,000.

Congress just eliminated federal funding for KCUR, but public radio is for the people.

Your support has always made KCUR's work possible — from reporting that keeps officials accountable, to storytelling to connects our community. Help ensure the future of local journalism.