Michigan Officials Warn of Tree Poaching Scam

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Michigan officials are warning residents, especially those with woodsy lots or acreages, of an unusual scam.

Tree poachers are using the ruse that the invasive Thousand Cankers Disease has been detected in Michigan, and they’re pressuring Michigan woodlot owners and others to sell their prized black walnut trees, the Michigan departments of Natural Resources and Agriculture and Rural Development said in a statement.

The disease, which is threatening millions of black walnut trees in forests and urban areas, hasn’t been detected in Michigan, and the DNR and agriculture department are continuing a disease surveillance program to look for invasive diseases and exotic pests and protect the state’s natural resources from things like TCD.

Although TCD does present a real threat to black walnut, to date it hasn’t rapidly spread and impacted walnut on the same scale as the Emerald Ash Borer or Dutch Elm Disease

“If TCD is eventually detected, it would be announced by the state identifying the affected areas, outlining the response plan and quarantine restrictions would apply to the affected area,” the state agencies said. “This is often only a small portion of one county.”

Thousand Cankers Disease is caused by a combination of small beetles boring into walnut branches, and a fungus introduced by the beetles. The crowns of affected trees begin dying and the tree eventually succumbs.

Michigan officials got in front of the deadly tree disease in May 2010 with a quarantine to protect the state’s walnuts (Juglans spp.). The disease his been reported in nearly a dozen states, primarily in western and northwestern United States, but also also Tennessee and Pennsylvania.

To prevent the spread of the disease, the quarantine restricts the movement from infected states of things like nursery stock, green lumber, logs, firewood composted and non-composted wood chips, among other things.

Exempt items that aren’t a threat include nuts, nut meats and walnut hulls; processed lumber that is 100 percent bark-free and kiln-dried with squared edges; and finished wood products without bark.

Michigan’s forests are home to approximately 8.5 million black walnut trees with an economic value of more than $86 million and ecological value as a food source for birds, mammals and other wildlife, state officials said.

There are approximately 80 walnut growers in the state, with about 4,000 trees in nut production.

Some signs that trees may be infected include wilting leaves or dying branches during the summer months. More information is found here and here.

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Photo via Flickr/Creative Commons