Oak Wilt

Oak wilt disease is now found in our Dunham Lake communities. Recently both a red oak and a white oak on the Livingston side of the Greenbelt have been diagnosed with 99% certainty of having oak wilt disease by a DNR pathologist. MSU oak wilt researcher Dr. David Roberts has also diagnosed oak wilt disease in the nearby residential area.. Residents on both the eastern and northern side of the lake also report oak wilt cases. These are only very preliminary investigations.

Oak wilt disease strikes fast, killing red oaks (which include scarlet oaks, pin oaks, northern oaks) in 4 to 8 weeks. White oaks succumb more slowly and can be resistant. The eco-systems of our 42 acre Greenbelt were historically an oak / hickory and oak savannah with oak openings. In the ‘Greenbelt Management Plan’ 308 oaks are documented in 6 of the 13 stands comprising the common properties. Large numbers of oaks exist, of course, on private properties. This makes our community very vulnerable.

• Educating our residents is critical to being proactive in preventing oak wilt spread. Watch for notification of a Highland TWP presentation on ‘Oak Wilt Disease’ by Dr. David Roberts in the very near future. This will be free and open to all residents.

• Residents will recommend to the Hartland Board of Trustees that they adopt an oak wilt ordinance on October 4 at 7 P.M. and to the Highland Board of Trustees on Wednesday, October 13.

• Julie Crick from MSU.edu is attempting to meet with representatives of both Highland TWP and Hartland TWP to explore how to go about adopting an oak wilt ordinance. Atttached is a link to Bloomfield TWP oak wilt ordinance

• Hire only a certified arborist who will only use these fungistatics – Arborjet (Propizol) or Rainbow Tree Care (Alamo). The arborist may recommend trenching. (Very likely oak wilt disease was spread to the red oaks of Dunham Lake because of an uncertified arborist. This arborist used spikes to climb the oaks - a taboo for decades! - and he pruned at the wrong time. Sap beetles can smell the sweet, oozing sap for miles and come to feed on it. They become vectors if they carry this fungus. The red oaks start to die in four weeks. DTE and Livingston County Road Com. have also used poor pruning practices and have spread the disease to Hartland.

• The most recent research cautions that elective pruning be done during the dormant season only. Some researchers suggest between Nov. 1 to Mar. 1, but others are even more cautious - only prune during dormancy and if the temperature is below 50 degrees.

• If an oak is damaged in the warmer seasons, the branches are removed and IMMEDIATELY painted with latex paint. You have less than a half hour to do so, acc. to the latest research. When an oak wilt infested tree is removed, strict rules for disposing of the tree apply. It must be chipped (3 inches or less) and disposed of properly. No firewood should be taken.

The following resources describe what oak wilt looks like and has more details on management. This is an actively changing field so old information may no longer be accurate.

The antifungal agent, propiconazole, has shown to be effective in curing infected white oaks and for prevention of infection in red oaks. It will not cure an infected red oak. Trenching, or cutting roots between infected and non-infected trees has also been shown to be effective.