A forest health expert says the City of Edmonton’s current approach to combating Dutch elm disease could cause lasting long-term effects on the city’s tree canopy. Since 2024, the City of Edmonton has reported 16 cases of Dutch elm disease, including nine cases discovered this year. Elm trees make up about 22 per cent of Edmonton’s municipal tree canopy, the majority of which are American elm trees. …Currently, the City of Edmonton is focused on the removal of infected trees. Due to the risk of spread, elm trees within 20 metres of the infected trees are also being removed, even if they are healthy. …Nadir Erbilgin, a professor of forest health at the University of Alberta, … recommends the city introduce trap trees, to combat the disease at the source of infection: the bark beetle. …Once the tree is infested, it is then removed and burned, reducing the number of beetles capable of spreading the disease.