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Grayslake wants law to protect oak trees

Grayslake village board members are hoping a proposed local law can lead to healthier oak trees in town.

Elected officials during an informal committee discussion Tuesday night endorsed the ordinance that would prohibit "inappropriate" pruning and trimming of public oak trees in parkways. The proposal will return to the village board for a final vote.

Mayor Rhett Taylor said the proposed ordinance was spurred by a village resident who has burr oak trees on her property. Taylor said the woman contacted village officials after a utility company cut her trees without checking with her first.

"She was aware of the proper maintenance of those trees and so shared what happened as well as some sample ordinances," he said after Tuesday's session. "We have a lot of burr oak trees across the town."

Officials said the proposed local law would be meant to control spread of oak wilt, a fatal disease. Toward that end, pruning, felling or other wounding of oaks on publicly owned property would be banned from April 15 until Aug. 15, without written approval from the village.

"During the period of April 15 until August 15, if wounding occurs or pruning is necessary in response to an emergency (storm, equipment damage), a tree wound dressing shall be applied within 24 hours to each wound. The cut surface of stumps from living, noninfected oaks shall be immediately painted with a tree wound dressing," says the proposed ordinance.

Oak wilt is caused by an exotic fungus, according to the U.S. Forest Service. The disease kills oak trees in the Midwest and Texas every year.

Wilting and death of infected trees occurs after the fungus causes water-conducting xylem vessels to clog, the forest service says. The fungus can spread from infected to healthy trees through grafted roots.

Jennifer Juzwik, a Minnesota-based U.S. Forest Service research plant pathologist and oak wilt expert, said Grayslake may want to consider altering the ordinance to cover the peak times for the disease to spread in the Midwest.

In Minnesota, Juzwik said, the dates on prohibiting the felling, pruning or wounding of oak trees are April 1 to July 15. She said the risk of oak wilt spreading is reduced from mid-July through October.

"If they want to make it all summer, that's up to them," she said of Grayslake.

Juzwik said oak wilt is common in Wisconsin. She stressed that oak wilt and other tree diseases can be prevented if firewood is not moved between states.

In a memo to the Grayslake village board, Zoning Officer Kirk Smith said "various entities, particularly ComEd" have inappropriately pruned oak trees in the public right of way.

ComEd spokesman John Schoen issued a statement saying the utility takes great care when it becomes necessary to trim trees to ensure power reliability.

"We work closely with municipalities to alert them of tree trimming plans and educate them about ComEd's vegetation management practices," Schoen said. "ComEd is focused on maintaining power reliability in local communities and employs a team of certified arborists to ensure we prune trees and vegetation using (proper) pruning standards."

  Grayslake village board members Tuesday night endorsed a proposed local law can lead to healthier oak trees in town. Bob Susnjara/bsusnjara@dailyherald.com
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