Courtesy Photo Brittany Vanderwall, forester with the Presque Isle County Conservation District, is pictured here.

ALPENA — Foresters and conservationists want residents of Northeast Michigan to know oak wilt is easy to spread in the spring.

Oak wilt is a fungus that can spread in two ways — either via the picnic beetle or through root-to-root contact. The picnic beetle is attracted to an oak tree’s sap and carries the fungus with it as it travels from tree to tree. The oak wilt fungus can also be spread through a cluster of oak trees if their roots connect underground.

Brittany Vanderwall, forester with the Presque Isle County Conservation District, said the fungus can spread rapidly and it usually takes until mid-summer for signs of the fungus to show. Vanderwall said the tree will start to brown and shed its leaves as if it’s fall.

“A fairly mature oak tree can die in as quick as a month — three or four weeks is all it takes for the fungus to completely decimate a tree,” she said.

Huron Pines Conservation Stewardship Director Steve Woods said oak wilt is a significant forest health issue, although conservationists don’t yet know the full extent of oak wilt in Northeast Michigan.

Woods said some counties have extensive oak forests and are already suffering from oak wilt outbreaks. He said Alcona and Montmorency counties have a lot of oak and are already having a problem with the fungus.

Additionally, oak wilt has been detected in Alpena County and was most recently discovered in Case Township in Presque Isle County.

“All oak trees are susceptible, and particularly red oak and black oak trees, which is the vast majority of oak trees in northern Michigan,” he said. “It is 100% fatal to all trees that get infected.”

Vanderwall said oak trees are most susceptible to the fungus from mid-April to mid-July and that people shouldn’t prune an oak tree until July 15.

If a tree dies from oak wilt, Vanderwall said, it should not be left standing. The tree should either be chopped down and burned on-site or covered with a tarp well enough so there’s no airflow. The wood should not be moved or used for camping firewood, she said.

“Even though it’s worked through and it’s killed the living tissue (in the tree), it can pose a danger until the dead wood is taken care of properly,” she said.