Forestry workers last week found three ash trees infested with emerald ash borer on Metropolitan State University property in the Dayton's Bluff neighborhood, more than a mile from the closest infestation near Pig's Eye Lake.

Crews will be surveying the area in the next month to learn more about the tree-killing insect's whereabouts, said Brad Meyer, a spokesman for the Parks and Recreation Department.

St. Paul budgeted nearly $1.5 million this year to combat the ash borer, first found in Minnesota in a St. Anthony Park neighborhood in 2009. Last year it was found in the Midway area near Lexington Parkway and Charles Avenue.

The city is trying to slow the borer's impact by replacing declining trees with new ones. Crews expect this year to take out 200 trees in Highland Park and up to 200 along Lexington.

KEVIN DUCHSCHERE