Please be advised that the annual removal of Dutch Elm Disease (DED) infected trees in the City of Selkirk will begin early in the new year.
As part of the Province of Manitoba’s DED Management Program, every year provincial inspectors survey trees in communities and tag those infected with the disease for removal to prevent further spread.
In Selkirk, 149 trees on public and private properties were tagged for removal in 2025. There is no cure for Dutch Elm Disease, and the trees must be removed, as authorized under the Forest Health Protection Act.
Selkirk awarded Green Drop with the tender for DED removals, which will begin the first week of January and continue until the first week in February. Private property owners with affected trees have or will receive notices and service release forms from the contractor in order to start the work. Removals will also take place in Selkirk Park and along the Chickadee Trail.
Every effort will be made to minimize disturbance to the property. The trees will be cut flush to the ground, but the stumps will not be removed as per the agreement with the province.
Selkirk takes proactive measures to protect its elms from DED, including activities such as regular pruning of dead branches from elms that can attract elm bark beetles, basal spraying of an insecticide to elms to reduce elm bark beetle populations, and public education.
In addition to the above-mentioned measures, the city actively plants new trees each year. Since 2019, approximately 550 new park and boulevard trees, including more than 15 varieties and species have been planted in Selkirk. 2025 will see over 400 boulevard new trees and further improvements to biodiversity and canopy coverage in priority planting areas identified in the city’s street tree policy.
To learn more about Dutch Elm Disease and the management program, visit the province of Manitoba’s website https://www.gov.mb.ca/nrnd/forest/pubs/forest_lands/health/dutch-elm-disease-mgmt-2020.pdf.
