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One of Wascana Centre’s elm trees has been removed after it was found to have Dutch elm disease, as Regina battles one of the worst year ever for the fungus that can kill a healthy elm tree in as little as two weeks.
In a news release on Monday, the Saskatchewan government said that additional testing would be done to find if any more of the centre’s around 5,000 elm trees were also infected. Elm species make up about 13 per cent of the trees there.
The infected tree was found in the Goose Hill area, east of Wascana Parkway and near the Saskatchewan Science Centre. It was removed on Aug. 20.
Three confirmed cases of the disease had been previously identified in Wascana — in 2014, 2019 and 2024, the release said.
Symptoms of Dutch elm disease include wilting leaves, yellowing leaves if trees are infected in the spring or early summer, and leaves turning brown and not falling off if trees are infected later in summer. (Joseph Ho/980 CJME)
What is Dutch elm disease?
The Dutch elm disease fungus is spread by tiny elm bark beetles that breed under the bark of dead or dying elm wood. If that wood contains the fungus, each new generation of beetles can infect healthy elms. Symptoms include wilting leaves, yellowing leaves if trees are infected in the spring or early summer, and leaves turning brown and not falling off if trees are infected later in summer.
Provincial regulations prohibit pruning of elm trees from April 1 to Aug. 31 each year. The beetles are most active then, and fresh cuts attract them, increasing the chance of infection.
The Provincial Capital Commission (PCC) manages Wascana, and trees get a visual inspection in summer as well as maintaining and monitoring elm bark beetle traps. Arborists also inject a fungicide on a three-year cycle to prevent infection.
Pruning of elm trees is only done between September 1 and March 31.
“Regina’s elm trees are a defining characteristic of Wascana Centre and the entire city,” Provincial Capital Commission executive director Jenna Schroeder said.
“While we invite everyone to enjoy the picnic sites throughout Wascana Centre, please do not transport elm wood into the centre for recreational use.”
In Saskatchewan, it is illegal to transport, store or buy elm firewood, which is one of the largest spreaders of of the disease if elm bark beetles on infected firewood hitch a free ride.
A record thirty-six trees have been confirmed by the city to have Dutch elm disease this year.
Regina has had cases of Dutch elm since 1981, and was the first city in Saskatchewan to get it. Over the past 45 years, about 200 trees have been infected in Regina. The city has about 500,000 trees and roughly one in three of those is an elm tree.
— With 980 CJME files
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