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DNR Silviculturists Create Podcast

Posted on by akabelowsky
Photo of goats grazing in a woodlot.

Grazing goats can reach as high as six feet to munch on leaves, which they prefer to grasses and stems. Photo: Wisconsin DNR.

Art Kabelowsky, DNR Forest Health outreach and communications specialist
Arthur.Kabelowsky@wisconsin.gov or 608-335-0167

“Who do you know wants to rent a goat?”

Milwaukee television viewers of a certain age might recognize that twist on the old commercial slogan of automobile dealer Ernie Von Schledorn: “Who do you know wants to buy a car?”

Although Ernie is no longer around, the idea of having foresters use goat grazing to control interfering vegetation remains in use.

It’s a discussion worth talking about — and listening to.

Goat grazing was the topic of a recent edition of SilviCast, a monthly podcast about silviculture produced as part of a collaborative effort between the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and the Wisconsin Forestry Center, based at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.

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Forest Health Team Adds Two Specialists

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Art Kabelowsky, DNR Forest Health outreach and communications specialist
Arthur.Kabelowsky@wisconsin.gov or 608-335-0167

Photo of Erika Segerson-Mueller and Carter Hellenbrand.


Erika Segerson-Mueller and Carter Hellenbrand, newly hired invasive plant program specialists with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Forest Health team.

Carter Hellenbrand said he decided to pursue a career with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) when a high school field trip sent him deep into the weeds, pulling buckthorn at Badfish Creek Wildlife Area near Oregon, Wisconsin.

On the other hand, Erika Segerson-Mueller’s respect for the DNR dates back to her youngest days.

Both have recently started work with the DNR’s Forest Health team as specialists in the forest invasive plants program.

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DNR Staff Gets Tree Injection Training

Posted on by akabelowsky
Photo of a tree marked with a ribbon for pesticide/fungicide injection.
Photo of a worker demonstrating a tree injection nozzle.

Cory McCurry, an arborologist with Rainbow Ecoscience, talks with DNR Parks and Forest Health employees while demonstrating the use of a nozzle component of the Q-Connect tree injection system currently in use at state properties. Photo: Wisconsin DNR.

Art Kabelowsky, DNR Forest Health outreach and communications specialist
Arthur.Kabelowsky@wisconsin.gov or 608-335-0167

LAKE GENEVA, Wisconsin — Fifteen employees of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources gathered at Big Foot Beach State Park on May 16 to learn more about using injections of systemic pesticides to protect the health of high-value trees at state properties.

Ten Wisconsin State Parks employees and five members of the DNR’s Forest Health team met with representatives of Rainbow Ecoscience and Bartlett Tree Experts to witness a demonstration of best practices for tree injections.

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Garlic Mustard Aphid Advances

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Art Kabelowsky, DNR Forest Health outreach and communications specialist
Arthur.Kabelowsky@wisconsin.gov or 608-335-0167

Photo of garlic mustard aphids on a leaf.

Dozens of garlic mustard aphids feed on the underside of a garlic mustard leaf in Michigan. The small, dark aphids, originally from Europe, have been found in Wisconsin and other states after first being discovered in Ohio in 2021. Photo: Rebecah Troutman, Holden Forests and Gardens, Kirtland, Ohio.

A new tool in the effort to fight invasive garlic mustard appears ready to make its move in Wisconsin.

The garlic mustard aphid, Lipaphis alliariae, has been moving westward after being discovered in Ohio in 2021. Since then, isolated populations have also been found in Wisconsin, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Michigan and Minnesota.

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Spongy Moth Forecast Caution Issued

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By Bill McNee, Forest Health Specialist, Oshkosh
bill.mcnee@wisconsin.gov or 920-360-0942

Photo of mature spongy moth caterpillar

Mature spongy moth caterpillar on a leaf. Photo: Bill McNee, Wisconsin DNR

Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Forest Health staff are cautioning Wisconsin residents that the next two months could bring the worst spongy moth outbreak in more than a decade.

The caterpillars of this invasive insect prefer to feed on oak, birch, crabapple, aspen and willow leaves, but will also feed on many other tree and shrub species.

Southern Wisconsin and parts of the north are already in a high-population outbreak that is predicted to continue and spread. Populations have remained high due to a low incidence of caterpillar-killing diseases last summer. In addition, weather conditions in 2023 are favorable for the caterpillars and unfavorable for Entomophaga maimaiga, a fungus that kills spongy moth caterpillars.

Property owners are encouraged to examine their trees and take action.  Specifically:

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Douglas County Joins Spongy Moth Quarantine

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A spongy moth larva eats a leaf.

A spongy moth larva eats a leaf.

By Paul Cigan, DNR plant pest and disease specialist
Paul.Cigan@wisconsin.gov or 715-416-4920

In early April, Douglas County became the 53rd Wisconsin county added to the state’s spongy moth quarantine list after a discovery that the invasive insect (formerly known as gypsy moth) had become established in the county.

The United States Department of Agriculture-Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA-APHIS) and the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) made the determination based on results of a monitoring program of adult moths and other life stages.

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Aerial Spraying Coming To Four State Properties

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By Bill McNee, DNR Forest Health Specialist, Oshkosh
bill.mcnee@wisconsin.gov or 920-360-0942

Spray aircraft used in spongy moth control

Spray aircraft used in spongy moth control. Photo: Bill McNee, Wisconsin DNR

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is taking action in the coming weeks in its battle against spongy moth (formerly known as gypsy moth) caterpillars.

An airplane will spray parts of four DNR properties to reduce the population of the hungry pest.

This year, high numbers of spongy moths threaten to strip trees of their leaves and may even kill high-value trees at these properties.

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Prepare — Spongy Moth Caterpillars To Return

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By Bill McNee, DNR Forest Health Specialist, Oshkosh
bill.mcnee@wisconsin.gov or 920-360-0942

Spongy moth caterpillars clustered below a sticky barrier.

Spongy moth caterpillars clustered below a sticky barrier. Photo: Mark Guthmiller, Wisconsin DNR

This June and July, spongy moth populations are predicted to reach damaging levels in parts of Wisconsin. Populations began to rise in 2020, and this is likely to be the third year of the pest outbreak in some regions of southern Wisconsin.

At present, damaging populations are expected to be most noticeable in southern counties, counties to the north of the city of Green Bay, and in far northern Wisconsin near Lake Superior. Additional areas are likely to have high populations that are more concentrated in size.

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Emerald Ash Borer Found In Vilas County

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Adult emerald ash borer beetle.

Adult emerald ash borer beetle. Photo: Wisconsin DNR.

By Linda Williams, DNR Forest Health Specialist, Woodruff
Linda.Williams@wisconsin.gov or 920-360-0665

Vilas County has the dubious distinction of becoming the first new Wisconsin county in 2023 to have a discovery of emerald ash borer (EAB).

EAB continues to spread into areas of northern Wisconsin. The first Vilas County detection was in the town of Lincoln. Additional infested trees have since been found in the town of Cloverland and the city of Eagle River. Continue reading “Emerald Ash Borer Found In Vilas County” →

Effects Of Winter Take Toll On Trees

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A group of planted white pine saplings with varying amounts of brown needles caused by winter desiccation.

Minor to moderate damage to white pine needles caused by winter desiccation. Photo: Wisconsin DNR

 

By Michael Hillstrom, DNR Forest Health Specialist, Fitchburg

michael.hillstrom@wisconsin.gov

Winter damage is one of the most commonly reported tree issues in early spring. The damage may be minor, such as off-color needles that are quickly replaced, but could be as severe as partial- or whole-tree mortality.

Winter desiccation occurs when conifers begin photosynthesizing on warm, windy days in late winter or early spring. Conifers may dry out in these conditions if they use their stored water and cannot replace it because the ground is still frozen.

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