500 trees threatened by Asian beetles will be cut down; Affected area along.

• Author: Foskett, Steven H., Jr.
• Position: Local

Byline: Steven H. Foskett Jr.

WORCESTER -- Some 500 trees lining a section of the Green Hill Golf Course are slated for removal as part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's efforts to eradicate the Asian longhorned beetle.

Clint McFarland, program director for the USDA's fight against the beetle here, characterized the work that will be done along Green Hill Avenue and up Colby Avenue to the corner of Trinity Avenue as a "high-risk host removal,'' meaning the trees are very susceptible to infestation. He said 11 of the largest infested trees along the stretch were already removed earlier this year, and said the push to remove the vulnerable trees nearby comes after a pocket of trees was removed between nearby Marsh Avenue and Andrews Avenue, also earlier this year.

Mr. McFarland said his office has been in constant communication with the city government about the plans to remove the trees, and said the city signed off on the removals Monday. He said he estimated the removals will start in late July and go into early August.

He said the trees slated for removal total around three acres and 5,000 "diameter at breast height'' inches. He said the largest infested trees already removed in the area averaged 30 to 40 inches in diameter; the remainder of the trees that will be removed average 10 inches in diameter or less.

"It's small or intermediary material,'' Mr. McFarland said.

Still, cutting down 500 trees along that stretch will remove a vegetative barrier between the golf course and the neighborhood, and Mr. McFarland said the decision to remove a large number of trees is never taken lightly.

He said many of the trees slated to be removed along Green Hill Avenue and Colby Avenue are still broken up from the 2008 ice storm. When climbers can't get high into the trees for a full inspection, the recommendation is typically for the high-risk host removal. Most of the trees are Norway maples, he said.

The beetle was discovered in the area in 2008 in Greendale; since then, a regulated area has been set up that includes the entire city and several surrounding towns. The Asian longhorned beetle, believed to...