Sudden Oak Death "Bioblitz"

Late spring rains for two years are likely to significantly spread Sudden Oak Death, the fungus-like water mold that is devastating our beautiful Coast Live Oaks.

  Help with this year's "bioblitz" survey tracking the pathogen, Saturday and Sunday, April 28-9. After a 1-hour training at UC Berkeley on Saturday, you survey for suspect Bay leaves -- the main carriers to oaks -- where you like, including your own back yard. Organizers also are glad to suggest routes. Return suspect samples to a drop box at the training site by Sunday evening. After laboratory analysis, results are announced on the web and at public meetings in fall.

Sign up for a one-hour training at 1 PM on the UC Berkeley campus at http://sodblitz2012.eventzilla.net.

Besides their beauty, oaks are critical to the survival of many plants and animals and the functioning of watersheds. Dead or dying oaks greatly increase fire danger, and trees or limbs can fall suddenly, endangering people or property.

No cure for Sudden Oak Death has been found, and last year's survey found significant spreading, particularly in the North Oakland, Claremont Canyon, and Northeast Berkeley areas. But according to Dr. Matteo Garbelotto of UC Berkeley, who organizes the surveys throughout the Bay Area, "residents with confirmed local SOD infections in their neighborhood can in fact protect their trees from becoming infected rather inexpensively."
Training sessions on how to manage SOD are offered monthly at UC Berkeley, and weekly in fall in various California locations.
For more information on SOD generally, go to www.suddenoakdeath.org. For information on the surveys, contact the Garbelotto lab at http://www.cnr.berkeley.edu/garbelotto/english/sodblitz.php.