Dutch elm disease spreads in Saskatchewan
Copyright © 2001 CBC
August 3, 2001
Written by CBC News Online staff
REGINA - Saskatchewan is being hit by an outbreak of Dutch elm disease, according to a survey released this week.The survey, conducted by the provincial government, shows the disease is spreading to almost every part of southeastern and southcentral Saskatchewan. Eleven communities have been hit.
The disease is caused by a fungus that blocks the flow of water in the tree, killing it.
People with experience battling the disease say it's difficult to combat. Kevin Stevenson is town administrator in Carnduff, a town which has been hit seven years in a row.
"It's very expensive for us to spend close to $10,000 on tree pruning, for a town of 1,000 people. And various other expenses that when you put it in perspective, it's a lot of money," he said.
Steve Hyde, with Saskatchewan's Environment and Resource Management department, says the province is already taking action to fight back.
"Certainly in some of our hotter regions, the hot zones we call them, we've stepped up surveillance and our summer removal program," he said.
The province has already spent half a million dollars controlling the disease.