DETROIT (AP) - Roughly 120 oak trees at a Detroit state park will need to be removed because of disease.
The trees at Belle Isle Park are infected with oak wilt, which can spread easily. Crews supervised by the Department of Natural Resources recently used a special blade to sever roots to stop the disease from expanding.
Heidi Frei of the DNR tells The Detroit News (https://detne.ws/2hzstte ) that oak wilt is always fatal to oaks. It has been identified all over Michigan, from the Traverse City area to Washtenaw County. Trees as far as 50 feet apart can infect each other.
The DNR says trees killed by the emerald ash borer also play a role. As branches fall, they injure other trees. Belle Isle has been a state park since 2014.
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Information from: The Detroit News, https://detnews.com/
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