Bay County approves bid release for emerald ash borer treatment after three-year trapping study

The Bay County Board of Commissioners voted June 2 to approve a purchasing bid release for a forest sustainability program to treat emerald ash borer in county-owned trees.

County staff told commissioners the pest first arrived in Bay County in 2007 and that a county treatment program began in 2011. A presenter said the county maintains an inventory of just under 3,000 ash trees in public spaces, including the county golf course and county parks, and that a recent three-year trapping study found persistent beetle presence.

"Emerald ashbor is still here. It's still attacking our ash trees, and if we were to stop, those trees would die on us," the presenter said, urging continued treatment rather than widespread removal. The presenter said removal could impose large per-tree costs and that the treatment program has preserved trees that would otherwise have required removal.

Commissioners moved and supported the purchasing bid release; the motion carried by voice vote. The presenter said construction and treatment plans are part of an ongoing forest sustainability effort to protect park trees and high-use public spaces.

The program description notes a multi-year monitoring effort and continued treatment as the county reforests affected areas. The board did not debate the dollar amount of the bid release during the session; no roll-call vote tally naming commissioners was recorded on the transcript.

The purchasing bid release was approved; next steps include proceeding with the bid process and returning to the board with contract recommendations if bids meet procurement criteria.