Everything Under the Sun

Everything Under the Sun | Town Arborist Carl Meinecke & the Emerald Ash Borer

By Raleigh Burleigh

Published July 13, 2023 at 4:35 PM MDT

Carbondale is the first town on Colorado's Western Slope where the pernicious emerald ash borer (EAB) has been confirmed. The invasive insect has killed tens of millions of ash trees in the U.S. and Canada.

On this week's episode of Everything Under the Sun, host Raleigh Burleigh talks with Town of Carbondale Arborist Carl Meinecke about the threat posed by the emerald ash borer (EAB), which was recently discovered in Carbondale. Carbondale is the first town on the Western Slope to confirm infestations by the invasive pest, which has killed tens of millions of ash trees in the U.S. and Canada. Ash trees likely make up 10 to 15 percent of the urban tree canopy in Carbondale, and EAB can infest and kill both struggling and healthy trees in just two years.

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Raleigh Burleigh

Raleigh Burleigh was raised in the historic floodplanes of Satank. The Carbondale Rotary Club sponsored him as a youth ambassador to Chile the year before his graduation from Roaring Fork High School. He studied International Affairs and Journalism at the University of Colorado, Boulder then applied those studies traveling throughout South America the following year. Returning to Carbondale thereafter, Raleigh acquired an internship with KDNK News which led to the opportunity to serve as News Director from 2017 to 2019. After another trip to South America in early 2019, Raleigh Burleigh drew deeper into the confluence as Program Director at KDNK. Raleigh now serves on KDNK's board of directors and as editor of Carbondale's weekly newspaper, The Sopris Sun.

See stories by Raleigh Burleigh