10/01/01 Update 

OAK MORTALITY STUDY AND ACTION PLAN 

OZARK HIGHLANDS REGION 

Ozark-St. Francis National Forest, Mark Twain National Forest, Ouachita National Forest, 

Missouri Department of Conservation and Arkansas Forestry Commission 

INTRODUCTION 

The USDA Forest Service predicts that oak decline will impact over a million acres of red oaks in 

the Ozark Highlands by the end of calendar year 2001. Heavy oak mortality is occurring throughout 

Arkansas and Missouri. 

Oak decline is a syndrome caused by predisposing, initiating, and contributing factors which 

together result in decline and mortality of oaks, particularly red oaks. This phenomenon has been 

studied and described in the past in many upland hardwood areas of the eastern U.S. It is a natural 

and recurring phenomenon involving a complex set of circumstances, none of which can be 

addressed alone to stop tree decline to any great extent. 

Factors such as high proportion of red oaks, advanced age, ridge and upper slope topography, rocky 

soils, and low site index, set the stage for decline. Factors such as drought, flooding, and defoliation 

add additional stresses to the trees. Secondary agents (insects and pathogens) that attack the highly 

stressed and declining trees lead to tree mortality. These secondary agents may include two-lined 

chestnut borer, Armillaria root rot, red oak borer, Hypoxylon canker, white oak borer, and 

carpenterworm. In the current episode of oak decline, we have experienced several years of drought 

and the secondary agent is an unprecedented population of red oak borer. 

 

Red oaks are extremely important in the Ozark Highlands. Ecologically, the red oaks are a 

significant mast producer for wildlife. Economically, the red oaks are the most desirable hardwood 

species and are used frequently for furniture, flooring, and other building materials. Widespread loss 

of red oaks could severely damage the social fabric of the Ozark Highlands through job losses, 

reduced game populations, and scenic quality. 

An interagency task force comprised of the Ozark-St. Francis National Forests, Mark Twain 

National Forest, Missouri Department of Conservation, Northeastern Area (USDA Forest Service), 

Region 8 Forest Health Protection (USDA Forest Service) and the Southern Research Station 

(USDA Forest Service) developed this Action Plan to reduce both the immediate and future threats 

to the forest ecosystem and associated communities of the Ozark Highlands. 

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The Action Plan consists of five components: 

1. Public safety; 

2. Public Awareness; 

3. Inventory and assessment; 

4. Management strategies for prevention, suppression, and restoration; 

5. Research. 

A Planning Team (PT) will be established by September 1, 2001, to develop specific strategies to 

implement this Action Plan. The PT will be comprised of scientists and specialists from the 

agencies being affected by the current mortality. As the PT moves forward, each component of the 

Action Plan will be analyzed in depth. Specific activities, timeframes and costs will be determined 

and documented in implementation plans. This Action Plan and future implementation plans will be 

the foundation for multi-agency, multi-landowner and multi-state programs. 

PUBLIC SAFETY 

Public safety is our most important objective. Specific actions may include: 

• Monitoring of developed recreation areas on public lands for dead or dying trees that 

pose a threat to public safety and remedies to remove them. 

• Identification of roadside hazard trees on public lands and remedies to remove them. 

• Identify hazard trees along trail systems and prioritize the removal efforts. 

• Provide safety awareness through oak decline/red oak borer interpretive signs. 

• Provide hunters with information alerting them to look for dead trees before locating their 

camps. 

• Contact highway departments, utility companies, and other special use permittees 

informing them of the red oak mortality issue and the need to remove dead trees.

• Hazardous fuel reduction activities.

Initial cost estimates for hazard removal and safety awareness is $1,390,000 dollars for fiscal year 

2002. These costs are expected to increase for at least 4 years. Costs for hazard tree removal in 

recreation areas and on trail systems is difficult to estimate until inventories are conducted. The PT 

will prepare a status report by October 19, 2001, documenting the ongoing efforts to provide for 

public safety in the areas where dead or dying trees exist. 

PUBLIC AWARENESS 

The causes and effects of oak mortality are not well understood by the public. Public awareness of 

the extent of this mortality is lacking due to the fact that red oaks are dying while other tree species 

are still living. The visual effects of oak mortality are not as great as with ice damage, tornados, or 

catastrophic wildfire. Information products and communication tools that explain what is occurring 

on all lands affected by the current oak decline and red oak borer episode are needed. As research 

activities begin to provide information and management strategies are developed, mechanisms for 

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communicating this new information should be in place and utilized. A comprehensive public 

communication and awareness plan will be developed and may include: 

• A revision of the oak mortality brochure developed in Arkansas in 1999.

• Tours conducted to increase awareness and build support for management actions. 

• Develop a Power Point presentation for use at civic organizations and other meetings. 

• An edition of State conservation magazines devoted to oak mortality and the importance 

of the oak ecosystem. 

• A citizen/scientist forum on oak decline sponsored by a multi-agency task force. 

• An Upland Oak Symposium sponsored by the Arkansas Wildlife Federation and the 

Southern Research Station with published proceedings. 

Initial cost estimates for the public awareness and communication activities are $150,000 dollars 

during fiscal year 2002. After the communication mechanisms are in place, future year funding 

needs will decrease. The PT will develop a comprehensive communication plan, an implementation 

plan, and specific funding needs by September 14, 2001. 

INVENTORY AND ASSESSMENT 

Preliminary surveys have estimated 400,000 acres of severely impacted areas in the Ozark 

Highlands. The Ozark-St Francis National Forest has estimated 300,000 acres with more than 50% 

of the oak trees dead or dying. The Mark Twain National Forest has estimated 50,000 acres of 

severe oak decline. Aerial surveys are starting for state, private, and other federal lands. Impact 

estimates will increase as more land is surveyed and as symptoms progress through the season. 

Better information is needed on the distribution and extent of the existing decline and mortality. The 

use of several inventory techniques may help obtain this precise inventory on a large scale. The 

following inventory techniques will be explored to determine their utility and effectiveness. 

• Satellite remote sensing. 

• Aerial sketch mapping that is attributed and digitized. 

• Aerial photo missions over specific areas using color infrared; interpretation of results. 

• Field inventories to validate findings from above; analysis of forest health monitoring 

plots; FIA plot intensification; compartment examination. 

An initial cost estimate for this large-scale inventory is $2,000,000 dollars in fiscal year 2002 and 

reduced costs during fiscal 2003 – 2005. A PT implementation plan outlining specific inventory and 

assessment projects and required funding will be completed by September 14, 2001. All large-scale 

inventory and assessment projects will be coordinated by Forest Health. 

MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES 

Management strategies will be based on the goal of improving health of the forest ecosystems. The 

implementation of the strategies will result in different management activities depending on 

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landowner objectives and the stand-specific conditions. Two broad strategies are proposed here: 

“Suppression and prevention” and “restoration”. 

Site-specific projects must be based on accurate inventory data and scientifically sound treatment 

prescriptions. Actions have been proposed on several stands on the National Forests where 

sufficient inventory data and clear purpose and need statements have been prepared. As additional 

inventory data, management options, and research results become available, additional site-specific 

projects will be proposed, prioritized and implemented. 

Salvage of oak mortality is a potential tool for the management strategies. However, the current 

situation with extremely high red oak borer populations has severely degraded the lumber quality. 

Galleries by the red oak borer (up to 600/tree) have made the logs unsuitable for most commercial 

products including pallets. Little demand for oak chips exists in Arkansas or Missouri, which leaves 

firewood as the primary market for infested trees. Salvage of infested trees within a year after attack 

may be feasible for the sawtimber market, as the larvae have not bored into the wood. Research is 

needed to determine the rate of degradation and to develop salvage guides. 

Suppression and Prevention

Few suppression or prevention treatments are available for the current oak decline problem in the 

Ozark Highlands. Attempts to manage the secondary pest populations (e.g. red oak borer) do not 

address the true cause of this oak decline cycle. Effective treatments may exist to reduce the risk of

mortality in certain forest stands exhibiting high hazard for oak decline (old, over-stocked, poor site, 

etc). 

The following management strategies and management activities may be explored for risk reduction 

in high hazard stands: 

 

• Risk ratings to identify the stands with high risk of oak decline, but currently with low 

incidence of oak decline. 

• Project proposals may be developed for reducing the risk of oak decline in high hazard 

stands on the Mark Twain, Ozark-St. Francis and Ouachita National Forests. Commercial 

timber sales will be utilized where feasible during fiscal years 2002- 2005. 

• Recommendations on appropriate risk reduction activities for private landowners 

provided by the Missouri Department of Conservation, the Arkansas Forestry 

Commission and private landowners. Financial assistance programs may be utilized to 

help private landowners with activities that do not generate offsetting income. 

• Risk reduction activities implemented on State lands by the Missouri Department of

Conservation and the Arkansas Forestry Commission. 

• Technology development. 

Prior to implementation of management actions, administrative processes necessary for compliance 

with federal laws including the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the Endangered 

Species Act (ESA) will take place where required. As permitted by regulation, a request for 

alternative arrangements from the Council on Environmental Quality may be prepared for project 

proposals if the criteria for nomination have been met. A request for exemption from stay during the 

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administrative appeal process may be prepared for project proposals if the criteria for exemption 

have been met. 

Restoration: 

For most forested stands with significant oak decline, management should focus on the long-term

health of the ecosystem. Assessment of the residual stand and advanced regeneration is needed to 

make sound management decisions. If the residual stand and regeneration is suitable for the 

landowners objectives, no management action is necessary. However, if the residual stand and/or 

advanced regeneration does not meet landowner objectives, various management activities should be 

considered to change the species composition to better attain their objectives. A variety of 

management activities may be implemented including: 

• Silviculturists from the National Forests, the Southern and North Central Research 

Stations, and the Missouri Department of Conservation have partnership to develop 

silvicultural prescriptions to promote restoration objectives.

• Project proposals developed to restore healthy oak ecosystems. 

• A prescribed burning program focused in the next few years on those areas with red oak 

mortality. In stands that have advanced regeneration of red oaks in the understory, 

prescribed fire may be utilized to improve ecosystem health. 

• Planting of nursery grown red oak seedlings increased over the next five years. 

• Silvicultural treatments utilized on State managed lands in Missouri to increase species 

diversity and improve ecosystem health.

• Recommendations of appropriate restoration activities for private landowners provided 

by the Missouri Department of Conservation, the Arkansas Forestry Commission and 

private landowners. Financial assistance programs may be utilized to help private 

landowners with activities that do not generate offsetting income.

• Technology development.

Conclusion for Management Strategies

Initial cost estimates for management strategies that meet objectives of risk reduction and restoration 

of healthy oak ecosystems are $ 8,200,000 dollars in fiscal year 2002. These costs are expected to 

continue for the next 4 years. 

Based on results of the inventory and assessment projects and the interagency silviculturist 

partnership mentioned above, the PT will prepare a management strategy that focuses on high 

priority risk reduction and restoration opportunities in the Ozark Highlands. Due to uncertainties on 

timing and amounts of funding that will be received for inventory and assessment projects, the 

timing of results from inventory and assessment work can not be predicted. Since the management 

strategy will rely on these inventory results, a specific date for completion of the management 

strategy cannot be estimated. The management strategy will be completed within three weeks after 

the inventory and assessment projects are completed and findings are documented. 

Following development of the management strategy, each individual land management agency will 

prepare a detailed implementation plan that will include specific projects necessary to meet 

management strategy. The PT will assist the land management agencies in developing the detailed 

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implementation plan. The agencies implementation plans should be completed within 2 months 

following the development of the management strategy. 

 

RESEARCH 

Because of the severity of this oak mortality, research on oak decline, the red oak borer, oak-hickory 

stand dynamics, and oak regeneration may be necessary to support forest management activities in 

the Ozark highlands region. Both the Southern Research Station (SRS) and the North Central 

Research Station (NCRS) have studies underway in oak ecosystems of the Ozark Mountains in 

Arkansas and Missouri, but additional work may be needed. 

The Southern Research Station and Forest Health Protection – Region 8 consulted with 20 scientists 

in Arkansas, Missouri, and surrounding states to identify research needs. They identified the 

following needs: 

• Develop methods to assess the risk of future oak mortality in stands to allow time for 

preemptive forest management to reduce future oak mortality. 

• Develop silvicultural prescriptions to reduce potential oak mortality in high-risk stands 

and to rehabilitate the forests already affected. 

• Determine the economic impacts of red oak mortality and methods to mitigate economic 

losses–speed of degradation, utilization of infested material, and visual quality (visitor 

concerns). 

• Increase knowledge on the biology of the red oak borer and other contributing mortality 

agents. 

• Determine ecological effects of oak mortality in the Ozark highlands, including impacts 

on threatened, endangered, and sensitive species, other plant and animal populations, and 

ecosystem an landscape processes such as fire. 

It would be prohibitively expensive to fund the research these scientists wished for. Existing 

research efforts by the SRS and NCRS on oak ecosystems and silviculture, however, provide a 

valuable base and could be expanded to address high priority needs from the list above. New 

research funding of $300K annually for 4 years would enable Station scientists to address these 

highest priorities. This new funding is above and beyond the FY02 President’s Budget for Forest 

Service Research and Development (FS R&D). These funds would be administered by the SRS and 

NCRS for Forest Service research and development as well as cooperative research with Universities 

and other State and Federal agencies. 

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TIMELINE FOR PLANNING TEAM PRODUCTS 

Planning Team named - Accomplished 

- In-depth analysis of action plan components; 

- Preparation of implementation plans; 

- Status reports. 

Public Safety/Hazard removal - Ongoing, work planning, 

- Status reports on agency efforts. Working w/ counties, 

 

PT Bi-weekly status reports - Ongoing 

- Comprehensive status reports on action plan 

Implementation. 

Inventory and assessment implementation strategy - Accomplished 

- Specific inventory projects developed; 

- Funding requirements and timeframes. 

Public communication and awareness plan - Accomplished 

- Comprehensive and detailed plan; 

- Specific public awareness mechanisms planned; 

- Funding requirements and timelines established. 

 

Safety status report - Oct. 19, 2001 

- Status report on hazard reduction efforts. 

Research status report - Oct. 19, 2001 

- Status report on funding availability and research 

Activities. 

Management strategy - 3 weeks post inventory 

- Opportunities for risk reduction and restoration 

In the Ozark Highlands. 

Implementation plan for management activity - 2 months post strategy 

- Agency specific plans; 

- Includes specific projects and purpose and need 

Statements. 

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