July 21, 2006

FIRST AND FOURTH WARDS TO RECEIVE 500 STREET TREES THIS FALL

RAHWAY — Mayor James Kennedy announced today that streets and parks in Rahway’s First and Fourth Wards will be receiving approximately 500 free street trees this fall as part of the Asian Longhorned Beetle (ALB) Reforestation Program conducted by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s Division of Parks and Forestry.

Crews have already begun to mark out locations in Rahway for the new trees, and affected property owners should receive a letter from the Division of Parks and Forestry shortly on proper tree care.

Last fall the Division of Forestry planted approximately 75 amelanchier, little leaf linden and Douglas fir trees along Clark, Stockton and Witherspoon Streets as well as Howard Field.  This fall, city neighborhoods may receive the following beetle-resistant tree species:  littleleaf linden, gingko (male only), honeylocust, Kentucky coffeetree, scholar tree, hardy rubber tree, American yellowwood, Turkish filbert, magnolia, serviceberry, Japanese lilac, white fringetree, sourwood, Japanese stewartia and amur maackia.

The Asian longhorned beetle was first reported in the United States in the mid-1990s and in Carteret, Woodbridge, Linden and Rahway in 2004.  It was believed to arrive here in wooden shipping crates from China, where it is a native insect.  The beetle is capable of causing massive damage and death to a wide variety of popular North American trees, including maples, chestnuts, birches and elms.  It does not pose any direct danger to humans or pets.  The beetle’s discovery in Rahway has prompted the removal of 1,800 trees from public and private property in the city.

“I have received dozens of requests from Fourth Ward residents requesting trees, and I am pleased to see that the state will be honoring its obligation to Rahway,” said Fourth Ward Councilman Dave Brown.

“The hundreds of mature trees that were felled in the First Ward are surely missed,” said First Ward Councilman Robert Rachlin.  “But this new round of planting will give us a tree population that is more diverse and will be enjoyed for generations to come.”

Rahway has been named a “Tree City USA” by the National Arbor Day Foundation for its work in promoting and maintaining a healthy tree population.  Later this fall, other neighborhoods in Rahway will receive over 150 street trees as part of the Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders’ “Greening Union County” program.

Click here for updated information about the Asian Longhorned Beetle.