DNR advises against summer oak trimming
ALPENA, Mich.– The Michigan Department of Natural Resources asks Michigan residents to avoid trimming their oak trees.
Lopping limbs off your tree creates a wound that can be accessed a fungal disease. The disease, called oak wilt, spreads most from April to July, and symptoms typically show from June to August.
Forest Health Specialist Simeon Wright said the disease kills oak trees from the inside out and harms local ecosystems.
Wright also said you should make sure to avoid using firewood purchased in other parts of the state.
“[The fungus] is very easily moved on firewood from trees that died the previous year. So if we can keep that firewood local and not move it long distances, we can protect a lot of oak.”
Some of the symptoms of oak wilt include rotting wood and branches dying from the top down.
The DNR offers a number of oak wilt resources, including an interactive map. Map users can observe reported cases of oak wilt and report new cases themselves.
