NORWAY — Tree Warden Tish Carr presented a comprehensive plan to the Board of Selectmen on Thursday evening on how to address a disease threatening Norway’s ash trees.

Carr said that in 2016, the town was awarded a Project Canopy grant, which Carr said would be used to develop an inventory of the number and location of ash trees in Norway, and to develop a comprehensive plan to minimize economic and aesthetic effects of the emerald ash borer, or jewel beetle, on the town’s ash trees.

According to Jean Federico, education and outreach coordinator for the Oxford County Soil & Water Conservation District, the bugs bore through a tree’s bark, leaving behind a tiny, V-shaped hole. They attack ash trees almost exclusively, eating through the bark and into the trunk, disrupting a tree’s natural ability to draw nutrients upward. The death of the tree begins at the top, where it’s been starved, and works downward.

Carr told the selectmen during a 2016 meeting that more than 40 million ash trees have been killed since the disease was first discovered in 2002.

During Thursday’s meeting, Carr said that “after many volunteer hours and an amazing group of home-schooled students that helped out,” a comprehensive plan was drafted.

The plan inventoried 100 percent of the trees in downtown Norway, and the entirety of Norway’s forested areas, and gave suggestions on how the town can prepare for the arrival of the pests.

“We discovered about a dozen ash trees in downtown Norway, and on average, we estimated that 15 percent of the trees in Norway’s forested areas are ash trees,” Carr told the board. “The good news is that we have over 20 different species here in Norway. It’s very good to have that diversity. We don’t have to worry about having one species coming in and wiping out all of our trees.”

Carr said that it’s important for Norway to be “ahead of the curve” for when the emerald ash borer eventually makes its way to Maine.

Selectman Thomas Curtis asked Carr when the bugs would arrive in Norway.

“Who knows,” Carr replied. “It’s in New Hampshire right now, in the county right next to Oxford County. My personal opinion is that it’s here already and we don’t know it. It sat in New Hampshire for 15 years before it was discovered. Predicting when it’ll be here would be hard.”

Carr said that “policy” is the number one issue that the town should deal with ahead of a potential EAB outbreak.

“It’s going to be important for us to figure out what we do when (emerald ash borers) strikes, and who’s responsible for certain tasks,” Carr said. “That’s why it’s important to take some time and write a policy or ordinance for the town. It’s important to get that information out there and educate residents.”

Selectman Russell Newcomb asked Carr if any towns in Maine had a policy or ordinance that Norway could use.

“I don’t think any towns in Maine have one, but there are a lot of policy drafts in other states that have dealt with (emerald ash borer) before,” Carr said.

Town Manager Dennis Lajoie told Carr that the selectmen would look into and discuss Carr’s plan over the next several months.

“Sometime in the next couple of months, you may see me coming back before you to see where the board stands in terms of implementing the plan,” Carr replied.

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