Prince Albert Protects 31 Historic Elms From Disease

Prince Albert is treating 31 American elm trees before a single case of Dutch elm disease appears in their city, protecting leafy giants that have shaded their community for up to 80 years.

Crews from Living Tree Environmental are spending 10 days in Kinsmen Park injecting each tree with a fungicide that will protect them for three years. The treatment takes patience. A large tree can need more than 100 litres of water and solution pumped slowly into its root system over three to four hours.

Marco Hale from Living Tree Environmental says these trees are irreplaceable. Each mature elm carries a replacement value between $30,000 and $50,000, reflecting not just the cost of planting a new tree but the decades of shade, clean air, and community gathering spaces that would vanish if one had to be removed.

The city remains free of confirmed Dutch elm disease cases, but taking action now matters. Elm bark beetles and infected firewood moving through the province pose ongoing risks. Once a tree gets infected, there's no cure. The only option is to cut it down quickly to stop the disease from spreading to neighbors.

Prince Albert has ramped up its prevention efforts steadily. The city treated just eight trees in their first year with Living Tree Environmental, five the next year, and 31 this year. The parks department now conducts disease inspections twice annually, and the city appointed two certified arborists as official disease inspectors at no extra cost since they already work for the city.

The Ripple Effect

The long-term vision goes beyond individual trees. Hale hopes to eventually treat every elm in Kinsmen Park, creating what he calls "stand immunity" where an entire grove of trees gains protection together rather than one at a time.

The approach stands in sharp contrast to nearby communities fighting active outbreaks. Melfort, a city northeast of Prince Albert, found 127 infected trees in 2025, up from 102 the year before. They've had to remove dozens of mature elms that can never be replaced in a single generation.

By acting before disease arrives, Prince Albert is choosing investment over loss. The trees being saved now will continue cooling summer sidewalks, filtering air, and marking the changing seasons for children who haven't been born yet.

Sometimes the best solutions are the ones you put in place before you need them.