WHEREAS there has now been a confirmed case of Dutch Elm Disease (DED) within the province of Alberta, and it is vital that we continue to maintain a province-wide elm inventory and to fund research and public education regarding this disease, to assist municipalities in their efforts to protect the elms that line their streets and protect their fields;AND WHEREAS the Government of Alberta has been pro-active in the prevention of DED in our province, and it is vital that this emphasis on DED prevention continue in order to prevent and/or control the occurrence of the disease in Alberta;AND WHEREAS the Province has worked cooperatively with the STOPDED Committee to develop an elm inventory and to educate the public as to the causes, symptoms and the potential damage that DED could cause in both the urban and rural communities of Alberta;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Alberta Association of Municipal Districts and Counties request the Government of Alberta to: continue to provide financial assistance to inventory elms, educate the public and monitor for the spread of the disease; and conduct a review of provincial policy regarding the provision of firewood in provincially owned campgrounds.

The existence of Dutch Elm Disease in Alberta was confirmed in Wainwright in April of 1999. The diseased tree was cut down and burnt and to our knowledge the disease has not resurfaced in Alberta. Dutch Elm Disease could enter the province in various ways, including: Campsite patrons arriving from areas infected by Dutch Elm Disease may bring infected wood into Alberta campgrounds. Private contractors may, because of price consideration, buy wood from areas which are infected and then unknowingly sell infected wood to patrons in Alberta campsites.Money spent now for research and education regarding DED will reduce the potential of having to deal with a costly environmental clean up in the future. The continued fight against DED is important, aesthetically and economically, to towns, cities, municipal districts and counties across the province who wish to protect the elm, which line their streets and form many farmers windrows.