The City of Edmonton has confirmed that a single tree in the Calder neighbourhood tested positive for Dutch elm disease (DED), marking the tenth confirmed case since 2024.
The tree was in decline and identified through a visual inspection, the city said in a Wednesday news release. It has been “proactively removed as part of ongoing efforts to contain the spread” of the disease.
“These cases were identified by our integrated team of arborists, urban foresters and pest management biologists as they continue intensified surveillance and testing of elm trees across the city,” said Nicole Fraser, acting director of parks and urban forestry, in the release. “We continue removals, daily assessments and testing in coordination with the province and Canadian Food Inspection Agency.”
The established Dutch elm disease protocol zone, which includes the Northmount neighbourhood, has now been expanded to include a one-kilometre radius around the affected trees. These zones are established in areas where Dutch elm disease has been confirmed to allow for heightened monitoring, assessments and tree maintenance.
Dutch elm disease is a contagious fungal infection that poses a significant risk to both the infected trees and all surrounding elm trees. The city’s approach involves the swift removal of both infected and adjacent elms, as well as a consistent and precise pruning program that removes deadwood from elms, which act as habitats for the beetles that spread the fungus. The city also monitors and assesses elm trees within a one-kilometre radius of the infected tree.
Elm trees make up nearly 22 per cent of Edmonton’s boulevard and open-space trees, with an estimated population of around 90,000 trees. The city has conducted 185,510 visual surveys and submitted 57 samples for testing this year.
Disposal of all removed elms occurs at the Edmonton Waste Management Centre in accordance with special handling procedures for elm wood.
While the city enacts measures to reduce potential infection, it is asking Edmonton residents to take a few simple actions to help stop the spread.
Residents are asked not to bring in or use any firewood from outside of Edmonton and instead “burn it where you buy it,” since that is the most common way beetles carrying Dutch elm disease are brought to the city.
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