City crews will begin removing dozens of infested Ash trees from Hamilton’s Confederation Park on Monday.

Approximately 66 dead or dying trees infested by the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) are being replaced with a new species of tree.

The full removal process will take about four weeks and the city says adding a new type of tree will help diversify Hamilton’s urban forest.

The EAB is native to China and Eastern Asia and is believed to have killed millions of trees in the United States and Canada. The City of Hamilton says the highly destructive invasive beetle has the potential to destroy Hamilton’s entire Ash tree population by 2020.

In 2012, the city approved a 10-year plan to remove all impacted city-owned Ash trees.