Forest Pest & Disease Alerts
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You can help maintain the natural beauty of Leelanau County’s forests by familiarizing yourself with some species of concern and reporting them to the proper authorities. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Kama Ross, District Forester at kama.ross@macd.org.
Click on the links below for more information: |
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Prune Your Oak Trees Before April 15th!
Landowners throughout Michigan are being reminded to prune or complete any work around any red oak trees before April 15 in order to help stop the spread of oak wilt. Oak wilt is a non-native fungus that is 100% fatal to red oaks and can be controlled if recommended practices are followed. Any planned construction or utility work that requires removal or pruning of oaks, a timber harvest, or any activity that is likely to wound oaks, should all be completed before the growing season begins. If tree work is completed now, the tree wounds will seal off before the picnic beetles are active. These sap feeding beetles are the primary vectors transmitting the fungal spores overland.
Oak wilt is one of the most expensive diseases to treat, so prevention is key. Avoiding new infections is the least costly of all the management options available. Tree professionals strongly recommend not pruning or injuring red oak trees when the trees are actively growing and the beetles are active, so between April 15 and October 31 is a guideline that will lower the risk of overland spread by the sap feeding beetles. Pests and diseases do not recognize dates on our calendar, so waiting until temperatures are consistently cold and they go dormant is the time of lowest risk. If a tree receives storm damage or for hazard reasons, needs to be pruned during the growing season, immediately seal the wound with tree wound or latex paint.
New satellite oak wilt sites occurred last summer in the Glen Arbor and Benzonia areas. Landowners are encouraged to share the preventative information with neighbors so that together, we can keep the spread of this fatal fungus under control. Please visit the Michigan Oak Wilt Coalition website for up-to-date information, https://www.michiganoakwilt.org/.
The Forestry Assistance Program for Leelanau, Benzie and Grand Traverse Counties offers free, on-site technical assistance to help landowners correctly identify wilt, and learn about treatment options. For more information, contact Kama Ross, District Forester, 231-256-9783 or kama.ross@macd.org.
Oak wilt is one of the most expensive diseases to treat, so prevention is key. Avoiding new infections is the least costly of all the management options available. Tree professionals strongly recommend not pruning or injuring red oak trees when the trees are actively growing and the beetles are active, so between April 15 and October 31 is a guideline that will lower the risk of overland spread by the sap feeding beetles. Pests and diseases do not recognize dates on our calendar, so waiting until temperatures are consistently cold and they go dormant is the time of lowest risk. If a tree receives storm damage or for hazard reasons, needs to be pruned during the growing season, immediately seal the wound with tree wound or latex paint.
New satellite oak wilt sites occurred last summer in the Glen Arbor and Benzonia areas. Landowners are encouraged to share the preventative information with neighbors so that together, we can keep the spread of this fatal fungus under control. Please visit the Michigan Oak Wilt Coalition website for up-to-date information, https://www.michiganoakwilt.org/.
The Forestry Assistance Program for Leelanau, Benzie and Grand Traverse Counties offers free, on-site technical assistance to help landowners correctly identify wilt, and learn about treatment options. For more information, contact Kama Ross, District Forester, 231-256-9783 or kama.ross@macd.org.
Hemlock Woolly Adelgid
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Most residents of northern Michigan are familiar with emerald ash borer – an invasive insect that arrived in our state, resulting in the widespread die-off of millions of ash trees. Forests once full of this large, native tree are now stocked with dead snags and state-wide quarantines are still in place preventing the spread of wood material from one place to another. Unfortunately, another invasive species is knocking at our front door, this time targeting a critical habitat species – our hemlocks. The photos emerging from the Appalachian Mountains are stunning. Entire swaths of forest appear to be brown as dense hemlock stands become fatalities to the hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA). Originally from Asia, but now established in the eastern U.S. and moving west, this aphid-like insect can be hard to spot, but they situate themselves at the base of hemlock needles and feed off the trees’ nutrient supply, eventually resulting in mortality. Luckily, unlike with Michigan’s ash trees, this mortality is more gradual – often taking five to ten years. This allows natural resource professionals to work toward saving this crucial hemlock resource. READ MORE>>>ISN WEBSITE LINK
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ISN is Seeking Survey Locations If your home or land falls within the below parameters, you are encouraged to complete a landowner survey! Homeowner Associations are also welcome to participate. If you have questions, please contact ISN’s Invasive Species Specialist, Audrey Menninga – (231)941-0960 x18 or email amenninga@gtcd.org. Do you qualify for a site visit?
If your home or land falls within the listed parameters, you are encouraged to fill out the below landowner form: |
Oak Wilt
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Oak wilt (Ceratocystis fagacearum), first identified in the USA in the early 1940s, is a serious disease affecting many oak species throughout the eastern United States. The fungus that causes oak wilt is likely an exotic species but to date it has not been identified anywhere outside the U.S. The spread and impacts of oak wilt have recently attracted more attention in Michigan due, in part, to an extensive oak resource across much of the state, which comprised 10 percent of the forest volume in the state. Home construction or utility work in woodland areas, and other human activity, can increase the spread of oak wilt. The disease is present throughout much of the oak range in both the Lower Peninsula and Upper Peninsula. It is especially abundant in some localized areas.
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