Camden commission rolls out EAB tools and plans election-day outreach and a tree raffle

Members of the Camden Conservation Commission on Tuesday described new tools and outreach intended to identify and protect ash trees and to guide residents through Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) response options.

A commission member (Dave) said an Emerald Ash inventory app built as a GIS layer is complete and has fields for tree condition, dates and a two-year health follow-up. The app has been shared with staff (Shane) and is intended to standardize field reports and monitoring.

Work schedule and treatment: Shane told the group he expects to start inoculation and treatment work this week when trees leaf out to improve uptake. Commissioners stressed timing and tree hardening as important for effectiveness.

Public outreach and events: members confirmed reprinted EAB brochures were distributed to town locations and discussed booking the Picker room as a venue for an education session. Because the election rules restrict inside petition activity, the commission planned an outside election-day table with banners, brochures and sign-ups; members agreed to staff the table and to keep materials nonpartisan.

Raffle and logistics: the group agreed to raffle a blue spruce at the election to draw attention to outreach materials. They discussed delivery, planting constraints (town resources, right-of-way planting eligibility), and a plan to deliver a winning tree to the recipient’s property when weather and logistics allow.

Next steps: the commission will finalize election-day staffing, confirm voting start time with the clerk, circulate the Picker room calendar for event bookings and continue to refine the EAB presentation and monitoring protocols.