Kahnawà:ke Environment Protection Office (2018)

The black ash (Fraxinus nigra) is very important for the traditional practice of braiding. Amid the devastation caused by the emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis), whose presence in the Kahnawà:ke region was confirmed in 2016, Biodiversité conseil was mandated by the Kahnawà:ke Environment Protection Office (KEPO) to conduct an inventory of the ash trees on their territory. A particular effort was put into the inventory to locate the stands of black ash, an endangered species, and evaluate the best methods for their treatment or for seed collection in the efforts to ensure the conservation of the population’s genetic material.