..

Forrest Oliveria, Entomologist

Dale Starkey, Pathologist

Robyn M. McMullen, Forester

U.S.D.A. Forest Service

Southern Region -- Forest Health Protection

Pineville, Louisiana

http://fhpr8.srs.fs.fed.us/

Mark Twain National Forest

Ozark National Forest

Ouachita National Forest

Arkansas Forestry Commission

Missouri Department of Conservation

Updated July 2001 by

Ross Melick, Silviculturist

Mary E. Lane, Wildlife Biologist

Mark Twain National Forest

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:

Mark Twain National Forest

Forest Supervisor

Rolla, MO 65401

Phone: 573-364-4621

http://www.fs.fed.us/r9/marktwain/

Ozark National Forest

Forest Supervisor

Russellville, AR 72801

Phone: 501-968-2354

http://www.fs.fed.us/oonf/ozark.htm

Ouachita National Forest

Forest Supervisor

Hot Springs, AR 71902

Phone: 501-321-5202

http://www.fs.fed.us/oonf/ouachita.htm

Arkansas Forestry Commission

State Forester

Little Rock, AR 72204

Phone: 501-296-1940

http://www.forestry.state.ar.us/

Missouri Department of Conservation

State Forester

Jefferson City, MO 65102

Phone: 573-751-4115

http://www.conservation.state.mo.us/

PRODUCED BY:

LONG-TERM STRATEGY FOR NATIONAL FORESTS

SHORT-TERM RESPONSE

A new round of forest planning is scheduled for the Mark Twain, Ozark and Ouachita National Forests. The Ozark-Ouachita Highlands 

Assessment will provide a background or 

foundation for forest plans in the Highlands region. For all three National Forests, development and improvement of hardwood management options will need to be a priority so the effects of decline can be minimized.

Hazard trees in and around recreation areas, roads, and rights-of-way may be removed or felled to protect visitors;Forest health ecological evaluations of affected areas have been prepared to document the severity of the problem and examine short-term treatment alternatives on National Forests; Improvement cuts for forest health may be used to reduce adverse impacts; and, Prescribed burns to encourage oak and pine regeneration, reduce competition from shade tolerant species, and reduce hazardous fuels.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age, disability,political beliefs, sexual orientation, and marital or family status. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc...) should contact USDA’s TARGET Center at 202-720-2600 (voice and TDD).To file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, Room 326-W, Whitten Building, 14thand Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call 202-720-5964 (voice or TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

MissouriDepartment ofConservation
OAK DECLINE oak b

ECOSYST

Dying trees 

aestheticsome typeincrease recreatiocamping, product vby borer 

In addition, 

creates dehazard to trails, and may reducreoccupy tincreases tolerant s

mushrooms of the armillariaroot rotfungus

degrade causedby red oakborer larvae

borer attack oozing sap where youngred oak borer larvae are feeding under bark

Secondary insects and diseases are contributing 

factors that cause further stress and damage to 

the trees. Examples are:

red oak borers (high numbers since 1999);twolined chestnut borers;armillaria root rot (a common fungus that attacks roots); leaf-eating insects like walkingsticks and some caterpillars; and, hypoxylon cankers, which form on main stems.

red oakborer adults

female male

THE PROBLEM

Large numbers of northern red, southern red, black and scarlet oaks are declining and dying in central and northern Arkansas on the Ozark and Ouachita National Forests, and in southern Missouri on the Mark Twain National Forest. State and private land in both states is also affected. Other trees, like white and post oaks, and hickories are dying as well, but in smaller numbers. June 2001 aerial surveys of the Ozark NF estimated 300,000 acres were severely affected, up from 19,000 on the Pleasant Hill RD in 1999. Aerial surveys in September 2000 showed at least 16,000 acres of the Salem and Potosi Districts on the Mark Twain NF in Missouri were severely affected. Additional field checks brought estimates to at least 200,000 acres of severe oak decline on the Mark Twain NF. This is a natural and severe occurrence of oak decline.A COMPLEX PHENOMENONNo single cause is responsible for oak decline. Trees are predisposed to decline by:

relatively old age (70 to 90 years); shallow, rocky soils, ridgetop and upper slope locations; and previous severe droughts (such as those in 1950’s and 1980). 

Decline is then incited or triggered by such 

things as:

short-term, severe drought since 1999;repeated early spring defoliation (such as caused by the gypsy moth in the northeastern United States).