Tree News

Invasive beetle deadly to ash trees has hit west and southwest Dallas

Emerald ash borer wreaking havoc on ash tree.

Courtesy photo

A bug that kills ash trees has been detected in southwest and west Dallas: The emerald ash borer, an invasive beetle that presents a major threat to ash trees, has been spotted within Dallas city limits, including the Great Trinity Forest.

The ash borer was verified by city staff and the Texas A&M Forest Service in two locations within city limits including one near the intersection of Texas Loop 12 and I-30 and another on the south side in the Great Trinity Forest.

The iridescent bug bores its way under the bark of the tree and lays its eggs; the larvae feed on the tree and kill it. The bug feeds on all varieties of ash trees. It's lethal and is threatening to wipe out ash tree populations. EAB kills unprotected ash trees within 2-3 years of infestation and can eliminate entire stands of ash trees within 10 years.

Approximately 40 percent of the trees in the Great Trinity Forest in Dallas are ash trees.

The beetle was first discovered in Michigan in 2002 and has spread to more than 25 states, killing millions of trees. Since then, it has spread to 35 states including Texas, where it was first detected in Harrison County in Northeast Texas in 2016. It's since been detected in Bowie, Cass, Dallas, Denton, Marion, Parker, and Tarrant counties, and was found in Dallas County in 2022.

Now, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service, the bug has been confirmed in five new Texas counties: Grayson north of DFW, Hill southwest of DFW, Hood southwest of Fort Worth, McLennan in Waco, and Palo Pinto west of Fort Worth.

According to a release from the city of Dallas, the Dallas Park and Recreation Department is working with Texas A&M Forest Service (TFS) and other city departments to monitor the EAB. To track their spread, park officials have placed EAB traps throughout affected areas within the city. After continual monitoring of the traps, the department reports its findings to the TFS.

Park conversation manager Brett Johnson says that collaborating between city, state, and local environmental agencies is key in controlling the effects of the ash borer.

"Working with others is critical in mitigating the damage the EAB creates. Dallas has been successful in making sure our parks and green spaces remain healthy because of the combined resources and expertise,” said Johnson.

In addition to ongoing monitoring to track the beetle’s spread, the park department’s actions to minimize the EAB threat involve treating select ash trees within city parks to protect against infestation, and a physical evaluation of infected and declining ash trees.

Reports of EAB in north Dallas along White Rock Creek are undergoing confirmation by the TFS.

In June, Dallas Park and Recreation and national tree care specialist Arborjet will host a tree health and EAB workshop for interested residents, arborists and companies who manage EAB and other pests and diseases threatening Texas trees.
Residents can find resources to protect their ash trees at City of Dallas Emerald Ash Borer information page.

nature animals

working hard

Texas clocks in as one of America's 10 hardest working states for 2026

Photo by Greeshma Gangadharan on Unsplash

Texas has been one of the top 10 hardest-working states in the country for almost a decade.

Texans pride themselves on being industrious, and a new report has confirmed Texas as one of the 10 most hardworking states in America in 2026.

The Lone Star State claimed the No. 7 spot this year in a slight dip from its 2025 ranking, where it appeared in the top five. Texas last ranked 7th in 2024, but the state has consistently appeared among the top 10 for nearly a decade.

WalletHub determined the rankings after analyzing 10 "direct" and "indirect" work factors across all 50 states, and then graded each metric on a 100-point scale, where a score of 100 signified the "hardest working." Analysts then examined each state’s weighted average across all metrics to calculate its overall score and used the resulting scores to rank-order the states.

There was only a 10.32-point difference between Texas and South Dakota, who claimed the top spot as America's hardest working state in 2026 with a score of 64.59 out of a possible 100 points.

Texas ranked 6th nationally in the "direct" work factors category, which examined the following six metrics:

The state's average workweek hours.
Employment rates.
The share of households where no adults work.
The share of workers leaving vacation time unused.
The share of "engaged" workers — those that are "involved in, enthusiastic about, and committed to their work and workplace," as defined by Gallup.
The rate of "idle youth" — individuals aged 18-24 who are not currently enrolled in school, not working, and have no degree beyond a high school diploma or GED.

Texas ties with Louisiana for the second highest average workweek hours nationwide, with Alaska topping the list with the No. 1 longest workweeks in America. Alaska is the only state where workers clock in more than 40 hours per week at their jobs, with WalletHub reporting Alaskans work 41.4 hours on average weekly.

In the "indirect" work factors category — which encompassed workers' average commute times, the share of workers with multiple jobs, annual volunteer hours per resident, and the average leisure time spent per day — Texas ranked 36th nationwide.

Here's how WalletHub ranked Texas in three individual metrics:

No. 10 – Average commute times
No. 20 – Average leisure time spent per day
No. 30 – Employment rates

According to the World Economic Forum, Americans clock in about 1,800 hours at work per year on average, which is 468 more hours per year than workers in Germany. And many are leaving vacation time on the table, WalletHub says.

"Even when given the chance to take time off, many Americans won’t, as nearly half of workers don't expect to use all of their allotted vacation days," the report said. "It is possible to work hard without overdoing it, though. Hard work is key to success, and the residents of some states understand that better than others."

Source: WalletHub

The top 10 hardest working states in America in 2026 are:

No. 1 – South Dakota
No. 2 – North Dakota
No. 3 – Alaska
No. 4 – Hawaii
No. 5 – Wyoming
No. 6 – Nebraska
No. 7 – Texas
No. 8 – New Hampshire
No. 9 – Tennessee
No. 10 – Georgia

texas reports labor day wallethub