Bascom Hill elm tree set for removal

A large American Elm tree located on the south side of the Education Building has succumbed to Dutch elm disease after years of attempts to save it.  Crews began to remove the tree, one of the largest on the campus, today (Wednesday, July 27).

Environmental Services has been treating the tree for several years, and in the past three years efforts were made to prune out the Dutch elm disease from within the tree. It is now infested with beetles and the contractor, Wolfe Tree Service, has indicated that it can’t be saved.

“It is too bad,” says Gary Brown, director of campus planning and landscape architecture. “We worked hard to save this tree during the Education Building remodeling project.”

“Hopefully the timely removal of this tree will prevent other trees on Bascom Hill from becoming infested as well,” says Ellen Agnew, superintendent of buildings and grounds. There will be 13 elms remaining in the Bascom Hill area after the tree is removed.

Environmental Services will also be taking down a dead Siberian elm on the north side of the La Follette School of Public Affairs.

Dutch Elm disease is a lethal fungal disease. The fungi that cause it came into the U.S. early in the 1900s on elm logs from Europe. The fungi can be spread by elm bark beetles, root grafts, and human activities.

The American elm was once the premier street tree. In 1851, two years after the opening of the University of Wisconsin, more than 700 elm trees were planted on the new campus, including two rows along the Bascom Hill walkways.

Agnew said there are currently 30 American elms on campus that are being treated for Dutch elm disease. They are injected with a fungicide every two years.