On her way to work one morning this past summer, Kama Ross noticed some sick-looking oak trees near a recently cleared right-of-way in Bingham County. Luckily, Ross knew what she was looking at: the first confirmed case of oak wilt disease in Leelanau County.
Mark Evans, who had hoped to build a forest canopy walk this summer in Leelanau’s Kasson Township, confirmed to the Glen Arbor Sun that the prominence of Ash trees on the property (many infected with Emerald Ash Borer), and not the outcry from citizens opposed to the project, was what stopped him from moving forward.
The Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore proposes to update its Hazard Tree Management Plan (HTMP) to include responses to current and imminent tree disease epidemics. To do so, the National Lakeshore will prepare an Environmental Assessment (EA) that will describe and analyze alternative methods available for these responses and determine which to include in the plan update.
In mid-June, Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore (National Lakeshore) staff identified an ash tree near Little Glen Lake infested with Emerald Ash Borer (EAB). This was the first time EAB had been confirmed within the National Lakeshore. National Lakeshore staff is working with partners and visitors to assess and mitigate the damage caused by these invasive pests.