The emerald ash borer is ravaging millions of trees in the Chicago area and wooded areas like cemeteries haven’t been excluded. Catholic Cemeteries of the Archdiocese of Chicago has 18 major cemeteries in Cook and Lake counties and the emerald ash borer is feasting there. “In 2007 we did a tree inventory, we have approximately 25,000 trees on our properties, of which 13 percent is ash,” said Joseph Catalano, supervisor of technical services for Catholic Cemeteries of the Archdiocese of Chicago. That amounts to about 3,000 trees. “That’s a bad number, it’s a little over one out of every 10,” Catalano said. Last year Cemeteries began contracting out the removal of these trees because the volume is too much for them to handle inhouse. This year so far, the cemetery organization has identified 600 trees that have the emerald ash borer and are slated for removal. “I’m sure the number is going to grow,” Catalano said. They are removing the trees and planting new ones in their place, using varieties such as oak, maple and a newer version of Dutch elm. More than 12.7 million trees in the Chicago region will ultimately be affected by the borer, according to the Morton Arboretum’s website. The ash tree was once the tree of choice in this area because it could adapt to the environment easily and take a lot of pollution. Experts began warning Midwest states of the bug after it was discovered in Michigan in 2002. Catholic Cemeteries has not planted a new ash tree since 2005. The arboretum lists these signs that the tree is infected with the borer: a thinning tree canopy, caused by nutrients and water that can’t reach the top; suckers or new young branches sprouting from the tree’s trunk; and holes in the bark or branches, from woodpeckers looking for an emerald ash borer lunch. The adult emerald ash borer beetle lays eggs on the bark. The eggs hatch, and the young larvae feed under the bark. They create channels and eventually kill the tree, according to the Morton Arboretum. “We’ve been taking down trees that we know are infested,” Catalano said. But it’s probably only a matter of time before nearby ash trees are infected because the insect can fly very far, he noted. “We got hit real hard at St. Adalbert,” he said. They took down 100 trees this spring at the North Side cemetery and 100 more are infected. “A lot of these trees are 3 feet in caliber,” he said. “They are big trees.” “It hurts,” Catalano added. “We knew it was coming but how do you replace a tree that’s been growing 50 or 60 years?” For more information, visit www.catholiccemeterieschicago.org.