A large number of diseased ash and beech trees in Potawatomi State Park in Sturgeon Bay will be cut down in the coming weeks.  The trees, infested by the emerald ash borer or by beech bark disease, cover about 185-acres or ten-percent of the park's acreage.  Professional foresters are guiding the harvests of the stricken trees.  Potawatomi State Park Superintendent Erin Brown-Stender says the harvest is needed to protect public safety.

The harvest of the diseased ash and beech trees will take place through May 15th of this year.  Trees not removed by that time will have to be cut down between October 15th of this year and May of 2021.   Some of the timber will be used for pulp and the remainder used for building materials.