‘Prevention is no longer feasible’: Dutch elm disease is here to stay in Saskatoon

Dutch elm disease in Saskatoon is past the point of prevention, city officials say. As Keenan Sorokan explains, it could be a costly problem moving forward.

Saskatoon will eventually become the latest Canadian city to lose thousands of its trees to dutch elm disease.

City staff gave a serious update to city council Wednesday about the tree-killing disease that has now established itself in Saskatoon.

“The spread is now citywide and is considered likely to be endemic, meaning complete prevention is no longer feasible,” Konrad Andre, the operations manager for the city’s parks department said.

After going decades without a case of dutch elm, the city saw its first case in 2015.

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In 2024, there were 11 cases, there were four cases in both 2023 and 2022, with an additional case reported in 2021 and 2020.

Last year, there were 41 cases, and the city estimates this year will be “well beyond” that number.

Dutch elm disease is caused by a fungus spread by elm bark beetles that breed under the bark of dead or dying elm wood.

The city estimates there are between 100,000 to 110,000 elm trees in Saskatoon. Officials say roughly 27,500 of those, many of which are in historic, established neigbourhoods, will be lost.

“Mature elms form a major component of Saskatoon’s urban canopy, placing long term neighborhood esthetics, shade, and environmental benefits at significant risk,” Andre said.

With prevention no longer an option, the city is hoping to slow its spread with management of dutch elm disease.

Other Canadian cities have seen large swaths of trees destroyed, either preventatively or by the disease, in recent decades.

Andre said Winnipeg removed 7,000 of its 194,000 elms in 2024. Without any intervention, Winnipeg will lose roughly 18 per cent of its elms per year.

Saskatoon is hoping to lose roughly 2 per cent — or 550 — of its elms trees per year moving forward.

Thai Hoang, the parks operation manager has previously said removing an elm tree costs roughly $2,000.

To accommodate the pricey increase to its dutch elm management program, council approved a $1.5 million increase to the program’s budget, transferred from a city reserve.

Andre says moving forward, reserve contributions will not meet the park’s department’s goal of tree removal.

“We do think there might be a higher chance of additional funding needed beyond what the reserve contributions are every year,” he said.

“Without active intervention, DED numbers and canopy loss could accelerate significantly.”

Hoang said for years the city has followed best practices in dealing with the disease, but there’s little to be done to prevent its spread now.

“Once the beetle and the disease are here, it is very difficult to manage and completely eradicate,” he said.

The city will also look to increase its education efforts with human transportation of elm wood being the most concerning.

Last year, the city found and destroyed 14,400 kilograms of wood stored on residential properties.