Celebrate Arbor Day in Des Moines by adopting an ash tree

Catch up quick: Roughly 600 ash trees that were dying or most vulnerable to the invasive emerald ash borer beetle were culled last year.

• The beetle has the capacity to kill all ash trees that are not chemically treated, including about 13,000 in Des Moines' public areas.
• Treatments costs around $120 for each mature tree and the city selects the healthiest ones to extend removal timelines.
• Des Moines launched the adoption program last year to give residents some say in which trees are granted at least a temporary reprieve from the saw.

Threat level: A tree will eventually succumb to the borer if treatment isn't reapplied every two or three years, McQuillan said.

• There's no onus for residents to forever treat a tree but, if adoption funding ends, the tree will eventually be removed, McQuillan said.

By the numbers: Des Moines will spend about $4.6 million over the next five years for its emerald ash borer response plan.

• Arbor Masters recently adopted the roughly 140 ash trees along much of the downtown sections of Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway.

How to adopt a tree...