The Forestry Forum

    This may have already been mentioned- I've been hit-or-miss on the forum recently- but a few days ago I heard an NPR bit on a new disease out west- a fungus affecting oak trees- but possibly also Douglas firs and redwoods. They had done some work showing how if it is present it gets on the soles of shoes and can be tracked to another area quite easily. It lives in the bark- and quarantining areas and harvesting the timber is being done, I heard. They can't use the bark for mulch. Has anyone else heard about this or can direct me to a thread if it is already being discussed? I will read some tonight but I know I won't get all the way around the board.   lw

http://www.suddenoakdeath.org/ Ask and you shall receive.  We have a harvest plan that is an hardwood conversion.  There is a quarantine on where the wood can go.

  Is it only out west

   Makes me wonder about the oak die-off that both woodmills in nh and i in maine noted about 95 (at least that's when I saw it first)

   But ours hasn't shown abundant fungal problems- the wood stays sound for years. You probably remember him talking about standing dead trees already conveniently de-barked (uh, oh, is that the fungus working off the bark??)- and I haven't seen the 'bleeding' patches. is that red color for real???  HMMMM  :( :o :(  lw

Makes me wonder if we're going to have any trees left in North Amerca.  Chestnut Blight, Dutch Elm Disease, Beech Scale, Asian Long Horned Beetle, the beetle that attacks ash, these fungal afflictions etc. etc....  Where's it gonna stop?

If I am looking at the right picture, then yes that red inner bark is normal for Tanoak.  The darker black circular stains are not.

It is still isolated in the Redwood belt as far as I know.  I have had a couple of White Oak mortality on my place but I haven't checked it out yet.