BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — A New York state lawmaker is proposing help for property owners who must pay to remove trees infested with an invasive beetle.
Sen. Tim Kennedy on Friday proposed a 50 percent tax credit for the removal of trees on private property that have been damaged by the emerald ash borer.
The Buffalo-area legislator also wants to require municipalities that are planting new trees to vary the species to avoid widespread damage by any one disease or insect invasion. Under Kennedy's proposal, an urban tree population would consist of no more than 10 percent of a specific species.
The emerald ash borer has killed hundreds of millions of ash trees in North America.
