Managing Ash Trees with Emerald Ash Borer: Treat, Harvest, or Wait?
Last updated: 2026-04-27
Every private landowner in New York with significant ash in their woodland faces the same decision when EAB arrives — or has already arrived without their knowing it.
The three choices are not equally good. But the right answer varies by property, and making it well requires knowing what you actually have.
Want Henry to walk your property and assess your options? Call (845) 754-8242 for a free woodland assessment.
Chemical Treatment for High-Value Individual Ash Trees
Systemic insecticide treatment — either soil-applied imidacloprid or trunk-injected emamectin benzoate — can protect individual ash trees from EAB for 1 to 3 years per application.
Treat when: The tree has high individual value (large yard tree, specimen ash, mast tree in a managed stand), infestation is in Stage 1 or early Stage 2, and the cost of treatment is justified by the tree’s value.
Don’t treat when: The ash is distributed across multiple forest acres, infestation is in Stage 2 or beyond, or the per-tree cost of ongoing treatment exceeds what the timber is worth.
For most private woodland owners in Sullivan, Orange, and Ulster counties, treatment makes sense for a handful of specific trees — the large ash near the barn, the specimen at the property boundary, the shade tree over the camp — not for the forest stand as a whole.
Timber Salvage Harvest: Recovering Value Before Decline Advances
A selective timber harvest removes merchantable ash while the wood is still sound and before grade deterioration reduces its value. Managed correctly, this generates income for the landowner, reduces the hazard tree risk as the stand matures, and opens growing space for the next cohort of species.
Harvest when: The ash component of the stand is in Stage 1 or Stage 2, there is sufficient merchantable volume to justify a timber sale, and the landowner is open to a selective harvest conducted by a qualified logger under a forester-managed sale.
How this works with EFP: Henry Kowalec walks the property, assesses the ash for infestation stage and timber quality, and conducts a timber cruise to establish volume. If harvest makes sense, he manages competitive bidding among qualified buyers, reviews the timber sale contract, and monitors the operation to protect the residual stand. The landowner receives market-rate payment — not a single buyer’s preferred offer.
The Cost of Waiting: What Inaction Produces on EAB-Affected Woodland
Waiting is a choice. For landowners who are not ready to act — or who are hoping the situation resolves itself — it is worth knowing what waiting produces.
In most cases: the ash declines from Stage 1 to Stage 4 over 3 to 5 years. Timber value that was present in Stage 1 is gone by Stage 4. Hazard trees begin appearing as dead ash deteriorate faster than most other hardwood species. The gaps left by dying ash are colonized by whatever regeneration is present — which in many overstocked deer-browsed stands in this region means invasive shrubs rather than desirable tree species.
Waiting is sometimes the right choice — when ash volume is small, when the property has other priorities, when the landowner genuinely prefers to let the ecological succession play out. But it should be a deliberate choice, not a default.
Woodland Assessment: The Starting Point for Every EAB Decision
Henry walks the property, assesses every ash stand he can access, and gives the landowner a direct read on the situation: which trees are worth treating, which stands should be harvested now, and what the honest consequences of waiting look like.
That assessment takes 2 to 4 hours on most properties and comes with no obligation to proceed with any service. The goal is to give the landowner the information they need to make a decision they will not regret in five years.
Call (845) 754-8242 to schedule a free woodland assessment.
→ Service: Emerald Ash Borer Assessment — EFP → Related: Emerald Ash Borer Symptoms → Related: Emerald Ash Borer Damage Stages → Related: Emerald Ash Borer Treatment Options → Related: Selling Standing Timber in New York
Henry Kowalec — Certified Consulting Forester — Environmental Forest Products, Westbrookville, NY
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I harvest all my ash trees because of EAB?
Not necessarily all of them — but the ash component of most private forest stands in New York should be evaluated for selective harvest while timber value remains. A blanket clear-cut of all ash is rarely the right approach. A forester marks individual trees based on infestation stage, species, quality, and location — retaining trees worth treating and harvesting those where the value recovery window is narrowing. The goal is to make deliberate decisions, not react to the presence of EAB with an emergency clear-cut.
What happens if I do nothing about EAB on my property?
In most cases, the ash declines from Stage 1 to Stage 4 over 3 to 5 years. Timber value present in Stage 1 is gone by Stage 4. Hazard trees begin appearing as dead ash deteriorate faster than most other hardwood species — ash wood breaks down quickly after death, and large branches become prone to failure within 2 to 3 years of complete crown loss. The gaps left by dying ash are colonized by whatever regeneration is present — which in many overstocked and deer-browsed stands in Sullivan, Orange, and Ulster counties means invasive shrubs rather than desirable tree species. Waiting is sometimes the right choice, but it should be a deliberate decision, not a default.
How much ash timber is on my property?
Without a timber cruise, this is impossible to know with useful precision. A timber cruise — a systematic field sampling of tree species, diameters, heights, and quality — is how foresters establish the merchantable volume and value of a stand. Henry Kowalec conducts timber cruises as part of the woodland assessment process for landowners considering their EAB options. The cruise gives you an objective basis for the treat-vs-harvest decision.