If you live in Devils Lake you most likely have seen several new young trees being planted on the boulevards of the northeast residential section of the city, roughly from 5th Ave. NE and east
According to Mike Grafsgaard, the City Engineer & Public Works Director, part of the appeal and charm of living in Devils Lake is its tree-lined streets and avenues. In his role as Public Works Director, Grafsgaard has taken on monitoring the health of the city’s trees. In order to have a healthy canopy the city needs to plant a variety of trees. It is an essential part of the overall appeal of living and working in Devils Lake
Funded through the North Dakota Forest Service and a 69-page grant application submitted back in April by the City of Devils Lake. It is a five-year plan starting with what is called the “original” townsite. The first phase has already nearly been completed. The work has been done by members of the Devils Lake Street Department, who will soon turn their efforts to their normal duties as the <a href="https://healthylife7.com/opinion-rural-mental-healthcare-starts-with-community-voices/” title=”Opinion: Rural mental healthcare starts with community voices”>community prepares for another school year to begin next month and so on
A Shade Tree Committee advises the city and assists with city forestry duties. Devils Lake has the designation of Tree City USA and though many of the city’s elm trees have sickened and died as a result of disease, they have been replaced by other kinds of trees that are resistant to Dutch Elm Disease, for example. A more recent problem the city might be facing is the Emerald Ash Tree Borer (EAB), an insect that kills Ash trees is on the move and it may only be a matter of time before that, too, kills some or many of the city’s trees. Acting prophylactically Grafsgaard said they prepared this extensive grant application for the spring of 2026, but their initial application was turned down. However it was approved for the fall of 2026, providing an additional 200 new, young healthy trees for the city’s boulevards.
Through the evaluation of the city’s canopy in partnership with Lake Region State College, they found that 1/3 of the trees on city owned property were ash trees that would be vulnerable to the EAB insect. This grant helps mitigate the threat to the city’s trees by reducing the number of Ash trees first, especially those that are sick and or dying, and planting other kinds of trees resistant to the bug
Each tree planted is watered three times a week for the first season by city employees
Next year another section of the residential area of the city, one that is adjacent to the first section planted, will received new trees, too. Next year the trees planted in the first section will receive maybe a little less nurturing – like maybe watering only two times a week – as a new section of tree plantings is expanded and gets the three times a week attention and so on until they are finished. The goal is to have it all completed within five years. Ideally then the entire city will see fresh, new plantings of various kinds of trees to keep its Tree City USA status and allow city residents and visitors to continue to enjoy the place where they live, work and play.
