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Some oak trees showing signs of deadly fungal disease

MADISON – The first signs of oak wilt, a tree-killing fungal disease, are now appearing in infected trees. Oak wilt occurs in the southern two-thirds of Wisconsin and affects trees in both the red oak and white oak groups.

“The first symptoms of oak wilt are branches with wilted leaves and leaves on the ground in summer when you wouldn’t expect to see them,” said Kyoko Scanlon, a forest pathologist with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. “These are not the brown, dry leaves you see in the fall. These are partially green to bronze-green and are not completely dry.”

Oak wilt is a fungal disease that plugs the water and nutrient-conducting channels in the tree. Once a tree is infected, water and nutrients can’t move upward from the root system, causing the tree’s leaves to wilt and fall and, eventually, killing the tree.

Oaks in the red oak group, including northern red, northern pin, and black oaks are particularly vulnerable to this disease. Once symptoms become visible, a tree loses most of its leaves and dies very quickly, often within a few weeks.

“Anyone with an oak tree that is rapidly losing its leaves may want to have the tree examined for oak wilt either by an arborist or forester, or send in a sample for a laboratory test,” said Don Kissinger, a DNR urban forester. “A person should take immediate steps to protect other nearby oaks on the property if they value those trees.”

The University of Wisconsin’s Plant Disease Diagnostic Clinic can help verify the presence of oak wilt. A sample must be sent to clinic and there is a small fee for the service. The clinic can be reached at (608) 262-2863 or via the Internet at Plant Disease Diagnostics Clinic [exit DNR].

Most often, oak wilt spreads from one oak to another through root grafts between neighboring trees. Removing a diseased or dead tree may not be enough to stop oak wilt from spreading. Forest health experts recommend using a vibratory plow or trencher to sever existing root grafts to help control the spread of oak wilt.

“There are also fungicide treatments available, but they are most effective as a preventative and repeated applications are necessary for success,” Scanlon said.

Wisconsin communities may be eligible to participate in a cost-sharing program to help combat oak wilt. The Urban Forestry Grant Program is not available on an individual basis, and property owners with oak wilt are encouraged to contact their town or city forester or other local official to pursue a grant. Applications for the program are due by Oct. 1. Communities interested in applying for a grant should contact their regional DNR urban forestry coordinator, who are listed on the DNR Web site.

Some instances of oak wilt are caused by insects that carry the oak wilt spores to healthy trees. To prevent oak trees from being infected with oak wilt transported by insects it is very important not to prune or wound oak trees from April through July, and to take a cautious approach to pruning from late March to October. Pruning or injuring the tree causes it to release sap, which attracts the fungus-transporting insects.

Additional information about oak wilt and other forest health issues can be found on the DNR Web site.

It’s Not Always Oak Wilt

Symptoms similar to oak wilt may also be caused by an infestation of the two-lined chestnut borer.

“The two-lined chestnut borer is an opportunist,” Scanlon said. “It will attack weakened trees, favoring red and white oaks more or less equally.”

The borer frequently shows up in areas where a forest tent caterpillar or gypsy moth outbreak or drought has weakened trees.

The adult insect lays eggs under the bark. When the larvae emerge, they eat their way through the fluid-conducting tissues of the tree, stopping the flow of nutrients to the leaves.

“The leaves turn uniformly brown, but remain on the tree,” Scanlon said. “Unfortunately, an infestation of two-lined chestnut borer and oak wilt can occur at the same time, on the same tree.”

Maintaining vigorous healthy trees is the best defense against the insect. Watering, mulching, fertilizing properly, and avoiding physical damage to trees should be practiced.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Kyoko Scanlon - (608)275-3275, Don Kissinger -- (715) 359-5793

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Forestry officials urge landowners to get help with timber sales

FITHCBURG - “I have some loggers in my woods and I don’t like what they are doing! They are taking trees that I don’t want them to take.”

For Department of Natural Resources foresters, this type of call from a panicked landowner is often the first sign of a timber sale gone wrong. The caller is disturbed by what is happening on his or her property and after a bit of questioning, the forester finds that the property owner has signed a contract with the logger allowing them to do exactly what they are doing.

That’s why it is so important to do research before signing a contract and conducting a timber harvest on your property, cautions Carol Nielsen, DNR private forestry specialist.

“Once a contract is signed, there is usually no cheap or easy way to stop the timber harvest. Often cooperation and goodwill are the only way to change the outcome,” notes Nielsen.

State forestry officials strongly recommend that landowners contact a local DNR forester or a private consulting forester to gather information and advice before signing on the dotted line.

A timber harvest is a complex interaction of ecology, forest operations, business, law, taxes, marketing and negotiations. It has both short and long term consequences for the land and the landowner.

“A private forester can even act as your agent to assure that you get the results that you want. One call may save you from a costly mistake that takes years to repair,” she points out.

“A timber harvest will affect your woods for a long time,” she continues. “Most people will have only one or two harvest on their property in their lifetime.”

Numerous studies have shown that landowners who work with a forester in planning a timber harvest report greater satisfaction, greater revenue from the sale of timber, and healthier and more valuable forests following harvest.

The shortest time period for trees to reach maturity is decades and with some hardwoods, while there may be some intermediate harvests, individual trees could live for 100 years or more. These older trees are often the most valuable and can be removed when they are economically worth the most, but they must first provide seed for regeneration.

“Those trees that are tall, straight and free of defects are those that you want to reproduce. The genetic makeup of these trees is the most desirable and if they are given a chance to reproduce, then the next generation has the potential to be as valuable as the current one,” according to Nielsen.

Most loggers are good stewards of our natural resources, emphasizes the DNR forester, but there are also “some loggers who exploit the woods. It is the latter that cause problems.”

Nielsen says in all cases you or your agent should check a logger’s references and look at some examples of previous logging jobs. This allows you to get an idea what your woods could look like after harvest.

“Prior planning and discussion (with the logger) can greatly increase your satisfaction with a timber harvest and that’s why you should get any important points down in a written timber sale contract so that your wishes are enforced,” says Nielsen.

“It is also important to note that Wisconsin law requires that a cutting notice be filed with the county clerk at least 14 days prior to harvest. For lands entered into the Managed Forest Law or Forest Crop Law, it is required that a separate cutting notice be filed with the DNR forester at least 30 days prior to harvest.”

Getting bids from several loggers is the best way to ensure that you get a fair price for your timber. Loggers usually specialize their harvest operation for certain forest products.

“Different equipment and techniques can greatly change the results and profit of a timber harvest. A forester can help you understand your best options,” notes the forester.

There are several things landowners should consider including areas that may be more sensitive to activity such as near your home, recreational trails, springs or waterways.

“Any logger you employ should be familiar with Wisconsin’s Forestry Best Management Practices for Water Quality,” points out Nielsen. The publication is available on the DNR Web site.

There are some basic questions that need answers before a harvest begins, including:

• What trees will be cut? This means species and sizes will be removed.
• What equipment will be used? These would vary from a sawyer to a tracked or wheeled processor doing the cutting from a cable skidder to a forwarder hauling wood to the decking (stacking) area. The equipment used can cause dramatically different results on different sites.
• Where will the equipment be driven in the woods? A thoughtful layout of skid trails can increase access to your property while avoiding sensitive areas. These trails often require seeding to prevent erosion.
• Where will the wood be stacked (called a deck or landing)? This area will experience a lot of traffic from logging equipment and trucks. A level, well drained site is bet. This area often requires some work to clean it up after the harvest is finished. Include this work in the contract.
• How will the log trucks come in to pick up the wood? Access for large trucks may require driving over a neighbor’s property or parts of your property that cannot support a heavily loaded vehicle. Most driveways cannot support a loaded truck in wet weather. Again, make sure that repairs are covered in the contract.

One of the most important goals for any timber harvest is to maintain a stand that is able to regenerate and be better than the stand it replaces. This allows the landowner to keep the residual timber value as an investment.

“In this time of low interest rates, timber may provide a greater return than cash investments,” Nielsen says. “There is always a demand for quality timber, but sacrificing your potential sustainable yield of quality timber for quick profit can devalue your property and leave you with an ugly scar on the landscape.”

“A good timber harvest is no accident. It is the result of thoughtful planning and hard work. Select a careful and conscientious forester and logger that understand your goals and objectives to ensure a successful timber sale.”

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Carol Nielsen – (608) 266-8019

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Meeting will present latest findings in CWD research

MADISON – The most current scientific knowledge about chronic wasting disease (CWD) -- from human health risk and risks to other species, to the role of environmental contamination -- will be presented at a meeting this month of an advisory group charged with minimizing the impact of the disease in Wisconsin.

The newly formed Chronic Wasting Disease Stakeholder Advisory Group will hold the second of seven monthly meetings on Saturday, August 18 in Madison. Researchers and scientists from state and federal agencies and the University of Wisconsin will summarize the latest CWD research as well as discuss social constraints of managing the disease in Wisconsin.

The meeting is open to the public and will be held in Madison from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Lowell Center Inn and Conference Center, 610 Langdon Street. The CWD advisory group will meet monthly through January 2008.The purpose of the group, whose members reflect a broad spectrum of interests in CWD and a healthy deer population, is to define a common disease management goal for Wisconsin.

The charge of the CWD advisory group is to look at how to minimize the impact of the disease on Wisconsin’s free-ranging deer population, the economy, hunters, landowners and others who benefit from a healthy deer herd. The group will define a common disease management goal for Wisconsin, propose strategies for CWD management, and study the consequences and trade-offs of the various management strategies.

Department of Natural Resources Secretary Scott Hassett said the department cannot manage CWD on its own.

“Cooperation with landowners, hunters, partners and legislators is critical. We believe that by working with the public on Wisconsin’s future CWD management approach, we can find strategies that hunters, landowners and the public can embrace,” Hassett said.

The department will take the recommendations of the group and advance these to the Natural Resources Board. Changes in management as a result of this public planning process are expected to be in place for the 2008 deer seasons.

“These will be challenging and frank discussions. Choices we make today will determine the health of the deer herd we hand down to our children and grandchildren,” Hassett noted.

Members of the CWD advisory stakeholders group include residents from within and outside the areas where CWD has been found, along with representatives from the Conservation Congress, Wisconsin Wildlife Federation, the farmed cervid industry, the retail sporting goods industry, food pantries, the Wisconsin Deer Hunters Association, the Wisconsin Meat Processors Association, the Wisconsin Bowhunters Association and the DNR.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Alan Crossley, DNR CWD Project Manager - (608)266-5463

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Blue green algae becoming a concern on some lakes

MADISON – Wisconsin lakes can be a great place to spend the dog days of summer, but swimmers and others need to pay attention to water quality and avoid blooms of blue-green algae.

New web pages on the Department of Natural Resources Web site answer questions about blue-green algae and other water quality topics concerning lakes.

Blue green algae can produce a variety of toxins that can affect human and animal nervous systems, kidneys and skin. While these algae are common in most Wisconsin lakes, the blooms this summer have been unusually large in some popular recreational waters.

People should avoid coming into contact with water with heavy, visible concentrations of blue-green algae, and make sure their children and pets, who won’t know better, also avoid entering or coming into contact with such water, according to Jim Vennie, a limnologist in the DNR’s lakes & wetlands program.

Blue-green algae are typically present in low numbers in water bodies with low nutrients, but partly because they are not readily eaten by other aquatic creatures, they may increase to "bloom" densities in water bodies with high nutrient levels when water temperatures rise. Waters in the southern two-thirds of Wisconsin tend to have higher nutrient levels, both naturally and as a result of agricultural and urban runoff.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Jim Vennie (608) 266-2212

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New video focuses on archeology of Aztalan State Park

MADISON – People can learn more about one of Wisconsin’s most important archaeological sites and the ancient culture that thrived there in a new video available for viewing on the Department of Natural Resources Web site.

The nearly nine minute video features Aztalan State Park, which is considered the state’s archeological “crown jewel,” according to Mark Dudzik, DNR archeologist. It is the site of an ancient Middle-Mississippian village and ceremonial complex that thrived between A.D. 1000 and 1300.

Dudzik says archaeologists theorize that the occupants may have cultural traditions in common with Cahokia, a large Middle-Mississippian settlement near East St. Louis, Illinois. The people who settled Aztalan built large, flat-topped pyramidal mounds and a stockade around their village. The park contains numerous mounds and reconstructed portions of the stockade. The inhabitants hunted, fished, and farmed on the floodplain of the Crawfish River.

The new video was produced by Wisconsin Public Television on behalf of the Friends of Aztalan State Park, and can be seen on the Aztalan State Park page of the DNR Web site.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Mark Dudzik - (608) 266-3462