4.5 SR 06-05-2023 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Examples of exceptions for harvesting in the high -risk period and in the high -risk zone: • Harvests with no reserve oaks and no oaks directly bordering the timber sale. • Harvests in a cover type where oak is a minor component and where reserve oaks are widely spaced. In these situations, try to o retain a buffer of non -oak trees surrounding residual oaks to protect them from harvest damage. • space residual oaks 200 feet or more apart. • leave no residual oaks within 200 feet of the stand boundary if adjacent stands are oak forests. • encourage loggers to fell trees along the edge of the harvest into the stand to avoid damage to adjacent oak trees. • avoid felling trees or skidding near residual oaks within the harvest zone. • Harvests in oak stands heavily infected with oak wilt, as long as harvesting and moving logs will not damage oaks in adjacent forests. In areas along the northern edge of the oak wilt range in Minnesota, monitor residual oaks between one and 2 months after April through mid -July harvests and rapidly control oak wilt if it develops in residuals (see Rapid treatment of an isolated wilting oak, page 10). Contact a DNR regional forest health specialist if you detect oak wilt in these areas. Avoid moving diseased oak wood April I —July 15. Process diseased logs shipped to mills before April 1. Ideally, mill managers would keep diseased logs separate to ensure they are properly handled before April 1. Wood chips, bark slabs, and debarked logs will not produce spores and do not need to be separated from other products. On recreational, construction, or residential sites Prevent oak wilt by not pruning or damaging living oaks throughout the state from April through July in yards or recreational settings (e.g., campgrounds). If you must prune or accidentally wound an oak, immediately apply pruning paint, water -based paint, or shellac to the pruning cut or wound. This step very effectively prevents oak wilt infection. Dead branches can be removed anytime during the year without risk of oak wilt infection, but caution should be taken not to cut into living tissue from April through July. Avoid felling oaks from April through July in the high -risk area. If they must be cut down, apply pruning paint or shellac immediately to the bark and to the last three annual growth rings of the stump to protect them and nearby oaks from oak wilt infection (Figure 2). Lot clearing operations, where oak stumps will be ground down or ripped out within weeks of cutting, are low risk for oak wilt as long as oaks surrounding the site are not damaged during tree felling. If oaks surround a lot that is being cleared from April through July, we recommend painting oak stumps around the edge of the lot, as shown in Figure 2, for added protection.