Largest Illinois Ash Tree Treated Against Beetle

Jay Hayek says the green ash tree growing on property owned by a family in Clinton is the largest of its kind in Illinois.

The forestry specialist at the University of Illinois Extension says that makes it worth protecting against the emerald ash borer. Hayek maintains the official list of largest trees by species in the state.

The tree in Clinton was being treated Monday with a chemical designed to prevent ash borer infestation.

The 90-foot-tall tree is in Clinton about 40 miles west of Champaign.

The invasive beetle has already killed tens of millions of trees throughout the Midwest.

Warren Goetsch of the state Department of Agriculture says such treatments are too expensive to use on all ash trees but effective on those the owners really value.