Berkeley Scientists Help With Sudden Oak Death

Scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, will help Northern California residents identify and treat Sudden Oak Death, a disease that quickly kills trees that can take hundreds of years to grow.
 
The Contra Costa Times says ``SOD Blitz'' meetings will be held in conjunction with the California Native Plant Society at seven locations across the Bay Area in May and June.
 
Researchers also hope residents will help map the outbreak of the deadly pathogen that develops on host plants ranging from the bay laurel to ornamental rhododendrons.
 
A survey last year found 376,000 dead oak trees across the regions impacted by Sudden Oak Death.

The disease is present in 14 coastal California counties from Monterey to Humboldt, and just across the border in coastal Oregon.