Gypsy moth infestation, age and drought have contributed to trees’ deterioration
To stimulate new forest growth and remove stressed and dying trees, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources is preparing to harvest oak trees on nearly 2,000 acres of state-managed land in the southeast portion of Kalkaska County. These trees have suffered from two years of a gypsy moth infestation, drought and old age.
The DNR conducts yearly flights to monitor forest disturbances and has documented two subsequent years of severe defoliation (leaves being chewed off the tree) on many of the affected stands.
“A healthy tree can usually withstand one defoliation, but two in a row, combined with a couple of very dry summers, was just too stressful for the older, less vigorous trees to handle,” said Kelly Standerfer, a forester who works out of the Kalkaska DNR field office.
Many of these older oak-dominated stands are the result of wide-scale timbering and the uncontrolled wildfires that raged through the sandy landscape in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Oak was one of a few tree species that benefited from the fires and was able to sprout where other trees and plants once had grown. These oak stands now are susceptible to disease outbreaks like gypsy moth and two-lined chestnut borer because of their age and stand uniformity.
“We need to remove the current trees in order to stimulate new growth and remove highly hazardous trees that are susceptible to disease and windfall – making them a risk to those who are out enjoying our natural resources,” said Bill Sterrett, DNR district forest supervisor. “The DNR also wants to move quickly to salvage the wood while it is still economically valuable. We feel a closely supervised timber harvest is the best way to accomplish that. Read more
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