The emerald ash borer, an invasive species that feeds specifically on ash tree species, will kill off all of the approximately 8,000 remaining ash street trees in Overland Park. At the start of 2025, approximately 3,200 ash street trees remain.

While we never wish to remove a tree from the City’s canopy, dying ash trees are very brittle and may drop large limbs, posing an immediate hazard to life and property. 

Prior to this removal program, City forestry crews removed around 500 ash street trees each year. At that rate, and as the emerald ash borer continues to kill off ash trees in our area, it would take about 16 years to address safety and aesthetic concerns surrounding the remaining dying trees.

The large-scale ash tree removal program allowed the City to remove 2,434 trees in 2023 and 2,410 in 2024, significantly reducing safety issues surrounding dead and dying trees. Another 1,950 trees are scheduled to be removed in 2025, which will complete the removal of all untreated residential ash street trees in Overland Park.

The emerald ash borer is an invasive beetle that feeds specifically on ash species. Emerald ash borers lay their eggs under the bark of the tree. When larvae hatch, they feed on the live cambium tissue under the bark, effectively cutting off the tree’s ability to move water and nutrients from the roots and shoots through the tree. Ultimately, the emerald ash borer will kill off all untreated ash trees in the city.

Emerald ash borer will continue to threaten ash trees that are currently healthy and being treated. If treatment were to stop at any point in the future, the tree would succumb to this invasive species and die.

Instead of replacing the trees as they slowly die one by one, the City is taking proactive steps to remove and replant as many ash trees as possible, which is a more efficient and cost-effective way to deal with this problem.

If you have made a significant investment to treat your ash street trees, please use this form to request that the City preserve your ash tree. We will consider these requests on a case-by-case basis.

The City does not remove, and this project does not include, trees on private property.

Street trees are trees in the public right-of-way along the street, generally in the space about 11 feet back from the curb. These trees are in the area between the street and sidewalk, or an equivalent space if there is no sidewalk.

You can use Johnson County’s online mapping system to see a detailed view of where the City’s right-of-way (public property) ends and your property starts. Trees that are outside of your parcel outline, adjacent to the street, are considered street trees. Trees that are within your parcel outline are on private property.

If you have additional questions about whether your tree is a street tree or on private property, file an OPCares request, and a member of the City’s forestry team will follow up with you.

By the start of 2026, residential street trees in all Overland Park neighborhoods and wards will be removed. If you believe you have an ash street tree that is dying, and it was not removed by the start of 2026, please submit an OPCares request to request removal. The City’s forestry division will still remove individual trees as needed throughout the city.

The City is working with a contractor, Arbor Masters, to remove the trees. Working with a contract removal service allows us to remove five times as many trees as City crews alone would be able to remove.

The City’s contractor will have one crew working in a neighborhood at a time, allowing the crew to focus on the needs of each area. A certified arborist will supervise the work of the crews.

Work has begun and is ongoing. Please refer to the neighborhood map linked under Removal Areas.

Reading the information on this webpage is the first step to staying informed about the program. Neighborhoods scheduled for large-scale ash street tree removal are listed above. As removal operations approach, the contractor will notify residents with door hangers about one week to ten days in advance.

You can also keep an eye on the City’s social media sites for updates on the project.

The City does not remove trees on private property. Please work with a private tree removal company that employs certified arborists in order to care for your trees.

The City Forester will choose replacement species in order to diversify the City’s overall tree canopy. Replacement species will come from the Forester’s approved street tree list and include:

• American Elm
• American Linden
• Bald Cypress
• Ginkgo
• Honey Locust
• Redbud
• Swamp White Oak
• Zelkova, and many others.

Replanting began in the fall of 2023, and we expect it to continue into 2029. This allows the City several months to remove trees before Citywide replanting begins, and avoids planting trees during the hottest and driest months of the year.

Residents and property owners will be responsible for watering new street trees, which will not prosper if they’re not watered.

No. The City forester will choose replacement species to diversify the City’s overall tree canopy.

In most cases where ash trees are being clear-cut, you and your closest neighbors will receive the same tree species, but neighbors a few streets over will receive a different species. This provides uniformity to streets but diversity to neighborhoods and the City’s overall tree canopy.

Residents and property owners will be responsible for watering and maintaining new street trees, which will not prosper if they’re not watered. When new street trees are planted, residents at adjacent properties will receive door hangers that include watering and care instructions.

We plant trees for the next generation, as an investment in the future. Street trees, especially, act as vital infrastructure that reduce air pollution and stormwater flooding, create healthier and safer communities by promoting walkability, and increase property values, along with a multitude of other benefits. It is the City’s goal to maintain as much urban street tree canopy as possible. Therefore, if there is space available for a new tree to be planted, then a new tree will be planted there.

The only situation where a new tree will not be planted is if there is no space available, due to nearby utilities or other mature trees that limit available growing space. Not planting a tree now would create a gap in the overall tree canopy that would likely never be filled.

From 2023 to 2025, $3.9 million in federal funding was allocated to the ash street tree removal and replanting program. Of that, $2.36 million is designated for tree removal, and approximately $1.57 million will support replanting. To maintain the goal of planting one tree for every tree removed, the City committed an additional $1.59 million for planting efforts through 2027 through its Capital Improvements Program.

A local composting company will dispose of the ash tree debris. It will likely be repurposed as mulch.

If your infested ash street tree was removed but not replanted in the same location, it’s likely due to underground utilities or other obstacles that made replanting near the original site impossible. Each location is assessed individually. Trees that can’t be replanted in their original residential spots will instead be planted in public spaces like parks and trails.