The elm tree in Helen Angel’s backyard was just the latest casualty in one of the worst epidemics of Dutch elm disease that has hit Evanston in years.

Angel’s 25-year-old tree first was infected last summer, and city workers cut off some branches in hopes of removing the infection. But the tree was re-infected this year.

“It’s always a loss when you have to lose a tree,” said Angel, of the 400 block of Dewey Avenue, who had the tree cut down about two weeks ago. “If it had (the disease), I didn’t want other trees to get it, and I realized that you have to do what you have to do.”

Angel’s tree is just one of more than 400 Evanston elm trees that have been infected with Dutch elm disease this summer. On average the city loses between 400 and 500 trees to Dutch elm disease every year — but this year the city could lose up to 800, said Paul D’Agostino, superintendent of the Parks/Forestry Division.

And with only about 3,000 elms left on Evanston public property, 800 is a worrisome number.

In the face of the epidemic, city workers are primarily trying to remove infected branches rather than chopping down entire trees, D’Agostino said. Still, the vast majority of infected trees — about 320 — will need to be removed.

“We’ve increased the amount of those cutouts,” D’Agostino said. “We’re trying to save as many as we can.”

Given the scope of this year’s outbreak, D’Agostino said he will be presenting some type of vaccination program to Evanston City Council for consideration next year. For now, he just doesn’t have the funds to do anything else, he said.

But some residents are taking matters into their own hands.

Virginia Mann, an Evanston resident who helped create To Rescue Evanston’s Elms several years ago, said residents can purchase Dutch elm disease vaccinations for their trees at a highly discounted rate through the organization.

Although there has not been a large public outcry over this year’s epidemic, people are certainly concerned.

“Do we have people asking about it? Yes,” Mann said. “There is no question that there are people who call up and say, ‘What can I do?'”

One of those people is Peter Mattox, an Evanston resident who lives across the street from Bent Park. With the help of Mann’s organization, Mattox put together a community event at the park in June which collected more than $2,000 for vaccinating some of the park’s elm trees.

“The neighbors and other folks in the community … recognized that (Dutch elm disease) is a real problem and we’re already experiencing it,” Mattox said. “The approach that we have advocated is that injection of trees have made a lot of sense rather than waiting.”

While both Mann and Mattox expressed interest in holding similar events in other areas of the city, establishing a citywide vaccination program — with both public and private funds — continues to be an uphill battle.

“I cannot tell you how frustrating this is to me, these trees are dying left and right and they don’t have to,” Mann said. “The vaccine is almost one hundred percent preventative, and our elected officials have chosen not to (do anything).”

City Reporter Mike Cherney is a Medill sophomore. He can be reached at [email protected]