Dutch elm ravages Winnipeg's Kildonan Park trees

Trees in Kildonan Park are being hit hard by Dutch elm disease.

Nearly 100 trees have been removed so far.

The city’s forester Martha Barwinsky can't explain why Kildonan Park is getting hit this year.

“It tends to travel around the city, so we tend to see higher incidents of Dutch elm disease in one area over another and then the following year it's hitting another area hard,” she said.

Barwinsky said in 2013 the south end of the city was the worst for dutch elm, specifically St. Norbert.

Another 65 elm trees are being removed from Kildonan Park because they are old and decaying and considered a safety risk.

“In Kildonan Park, we have a mature canopy, so the elms that have been removed from that park, there are many on the riverbank,” Barwinsky said. “We tend to see higher numbers removed from riverbanks.”

Barwinsky said a variety of new trees will be planted in the park this week to replace those that are diseased or dying.