MSU AgBio Research Forest Manager K. J. Kettler II took time recently to discuss the logging operations at Russ Forest with The News. While the swift loss of trees was problematic, it’s providing an opportunity for scientific research into the future health of white oak. -News Photo
Science matters.
And thanks to science, visitors to Russ Forest along Marcellus Highway can continue to enjoy long walks, horseback rides, picnics and play time under a leafy canopy.
But did you look up at that canopy during the last six months of 2024? Guilty.
Did you notice that there appeared to be a few dead trees? Guilty.
Did you continue on your merry way? Guilty.
Subsequently, were you curious/infuriated/suspicious/appreciative about all the logging going on at Russ Forest this winter?
Be appreciative. Dead trees have to go.
On a snowy, Scott-you-didn’t-plow-the-parking-lot-at-Russ kind of a Thursday, MSU AgBio Research Forest Manager K.J. Kettler II spent time with The News to explain the swift demise of the forest’s white oak from rapid white oak mortality (RWOM).
“We don’t have a definitive answer for it [white oak mortality]. There are several different variables that are stressing the tree out to the point where it can’t survive anymore. Some of those are spongy moth and the fluctuation in water table we think led to decline, and they’re pretty old trees. Even though a white oak might live for another 50 or 100 years, it doesn’t mean it’s going to.”
According to Kettler, the white oak at Russ is “pretty much” gone.
Photo courtesy of MSU AgBio Research
“We’ve maybe found four white oak that were still alive and had green leaves, which we left because we want to see if those are going to die next year or is it appropriate to replant white oak in there or is it somewhere white oak just doesn’t want to grow anymore. In general, it was pretty much 100 percent mortality of the white oak here.”
White oak mortality became a specific “syndrome” in 2011 as a method of explaining “the rapid death of white oaks (Quercus alba L.) within one growing season.” Researchers in Missouri where the die-offs occurred, found that “an upsurge of white oak mortality that did not fit the descriptions of either malady [oak decline, oak wilt] was reported in 2011.”
Symptoms of RWOM include “the deaths of entire tree crowns followed by rapid bronzing of foliage at the beginning of the growing season or during late summer. White oak and post oak (Quercus stellata Wangenh) were the only species in the white oak group that were reported to be dead and dying; most dead trees were white oak. The phenomenon was named rapid white oak mortality (RWOM) to set it apart from oak decline until a regional study of causal agents could be performed.” (https://www.fs.usda.gov/nrs/pubs/gtr/gtr-nrs-p-167papers/24-reed-et-al_2016-CHFC.pdf)
Fortunately, the die-off at Russ Forest occurred at a MSU AgBio Research station resulting in quick action to help stop the spread of any potential pests or pathogens and to ensure public safety.
“Besides the forest health aspect, the biggest push to have this happen so quickly was the safety aspect of it. In addition to removing the white oak, we removed a lot of trees that were still within the right-of-way of Marcellus Highway and Decatur Road. We did that in collaboration with the Cass County Road Commission, which saved us a ton of time and money, it improved the clear view. That was a big part of it. We had dead trees hanging all over the roads, which is a safety issue.”
Photo courtesy of MSU AgBio Research
The die-off was first noticed in July 2024, when Kettler’s crew were in Russ Forest doing a routine forest inventory. The staff reported back that most of the white oak was dead.
“I was shocked by that, because we had just been down here last fall [2023] and everything looked fine. So, we came down and looked at anywhere that has white oak and sure enough everything was dead or on the way out. The tops were all brown. So that happened between last year’s growing season and this year’s growing season, so it was within 8-12 months. Because of the dormancy period in winter we don’t know if they died last fall or some of them leafed out and then died. We saw it right at the tail end which was in July which is in the middle of the growing season.”
Kettler says they also had to remove red pine that apparently fell victim to “height to diameter ratio,” which in layman’s terms means trees that don’t have enough space to grow get tall and skinny.
“If you were to try and thin those, they would probably break off or they wouldn’t respond to that thinning. It was essentially clear cut and then you regenerate.”
We know this because of science and MSU AgBio Research stations are all about the science.
Managing our natural resources is personal for Kettler. Growing up hunting, fishing and enjoying the outdoors led him to a degree in business after high school and a stint working for GM, which he discovered wasn’t an ideal career path for him. He wanted to be outside. He went on to graduate from Michigan Technological University with a Master of Forestry degree then spent five years as a State Lands Forester and Wildland Firefighter for the Washington State Department of Natural Resources before moving back home to work for MSU.
“Knowing I have a part in that [research] and the ability to make a difference is really important to me. I’ve engaged in work with research that is going to lead to, hopefully, groundbreaking change in industry that helps us do things better, more responsibly, more efficiently, more sustainably. Those are the rewarding things for me.”
The main objectives of the station are 1) research, 2) education and outreach, and 3) overall management of the property itself – infrastructure, equipment, trail maintenance, forestry, and so on.
MSU AgBio Research maintains stations throughout Michigan. Each typically focuses on a specific commodity such as corn, soybeans, potatoes, beef cattle, and in Traverse City, tart cherries and tree fruits.
The research conducted at Russ Forest focuses mostly on the improvement of the physical characteristics of tree stock. According to Kettler, Russ hosts a number of genetic plantations, areas stocked with a certain variety of tree to try and “tease out the best quality trees.”
Kettler uses black cherry as an example.
“[Black cherry samples may be collected] from the state of Michigan and planted in different replications throughout the range to see which ones do the best. They would then collect seed eventually from the ones that are showing the best physical characteristics, and they would use those to grow stock in a nursery and then plant those out.
“One of the other options is you would collect seed from its entire range say the entire Midwest and further and then you’d see if there’s a source from one of those that grows a lot better and quicker.”
The changing climate is one variable pushing research into assisted migration. According to the USDA, “the rapid pace of climate change may exceed the ability of many species to adapt in place or migrate to suitable habitats, and this fundamental mismatch raises the possibility of extinction or local extirpation.”
And where would we be without our trees?
“There are tons of benefits from our natural spaces, right? We can go down the list, clean air, water cycle, mental health, benefits of being outdoors. We need to procure raw materials in order to build. We’re storing carbon in those raw materials when we do use wood products. All of those things would be affected in some way if we have massive die-offs or changes in our forest.”
In Michigan, especially, healthy forests are imperative to supporting a forestry industry that contributed $26.5 billion to the state’s economy in 2022.
In response to the die-off, Kettler says a “if you see something, say something” approach may be in order.
“I think our plan here is to have some new signage put into place and have QR codes that might lead to a website for additional information or a template you could fill out if you’ve got a concern. That would be helpful.
“There is a lot of citizen science that goes on. If someone would’ve seen that three weeks before us, it would have least given us a heads-up. There are opportunities for there to be more community engagement.
“We want this [Russ] available for recreation, but we also want it to be a window into the research that we do, forest products industry and for people who want to know more, that it be accessible for them.”
So, what happened to the logs?
“They’re going to a sawmill, and they’ll be turned into various products, furniture, veneer. Some lower quality will be used for pallets. We did have the sugar bush over here thinned as well. So, sugar maple may head to a mill in the UP that makes basketball courts.”
Kettler praises the logging crew for the exceptional clean-up job. All the tops were processed and not left behind. Any parts not headed to a sawmill will be used for fuel wood.
“They used pretty much everything they could.”
The next step at Russ is monitoring mode to see how things look during the next growing season.
“The plan is to monitor that area to see if we’re going to have additional mortality. Luckily, the stocking or the density of the residual trees in the area is really good. We have good regeneration. The soil at Russ is very fertile.
“We’ll look at all opportunities. Do we want to plant? Do we have opportunities for research to be implemented? Do we want to do some prescribed burning to promote certain species like oak to come back because we have seed sources still. Those are the different options.”
Fred Russ Forest, open from dawn to dusk, in Volinia offers fishing, picnic shelters, equestrian trails, canoe landing, children’s play equipment, fresh air, birds, wildlife, and serenity.
And for those hoping to get away from it all, channel your inner John Muir, “The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness.”
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