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| Ailanthus altissima. Vista, CA |
Aaron Echols from the Inland Empire Resource Conservation District suggested I reach out to the Catalina Island Conservancy for more information on Ailanthus altissima in the last blog post. You'll never believe who responded to my email...Aaron! Not the same one though. This was Aaron Kreisberg who is the Invasive Plant Program Manager on Catalina Island.
Mr. Kreisberg let me know that Ailanthus altissima is currently restricted to the city of Avalon currently and they are not managing that population beyond monitoring. That means no reports of toxicity of this plant affecting any field staff. He then recommended I reach out to someone at the IERCD by the name of....Aaron! These two knew each other! So, I let Aaron know that I already reached out to Aaron, and then Aaron Kreisberg suggested I reach out to another person involved with the Tree of Heaven in California by the name of Bill Neil.
Bill Neil is an herbicide applicator in the LA County Weed Management Area. Bill let me know he's treated hundreds of trees and saplings. On larger trees he doesn't girdle or fell Ailanthus altissima but instead uses an ax to chop the bark near ground level. This method kills the tree while preventing root sucker growth. By using these methods, Bill has had no contact with the sap from the Tree of Heaven. Bill then suggested I look for cases in Virginia where this plant is so common that it's harvested for wood & even used to make furniture!
I greatly appreciate all the help I've gotten from Aaron, Aaron, and Bill here in California. I'm looking forward to connecting with plant experts in other states!