Ash is still healthy in Manitoba. Walk a shelterbelt, or a river trail and you’ll see it — solid trunks, full crowns, and none of the hollowing that’s reshaped forests in other provinces. Green ash still anchors prairie shelterbelts, white ash remains a reliable hardwood in the lumber trade, and black ash continues its long cultural lineage in basketry and traditional craft. The emerald ash borer is here, but the decline is early, quiet enough that most people don’t notice. Manitoba’s ash stands strong for now, but once a species begins to slip — whether it’s the commercial white ash, the cultural black ash, or the everyday green ash — the story widens fast across the prairie landscape.