News Release

2023-01-04 Beech Bark Disease Resistant Tree Planting at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore

News Release Date: January 4, 2023 The latest effort to combat beech bark disease is underway at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore (National Lakeshore). Seven tree saplings made from cuttings taken from resistant American beech trees at the National Lakeshore were grafted and planted in early November 2022. The successful project came as a result of five years of planning and research in partnership with researchers at Michigan Technological University (Michigan Tech).

Beech trees are a common sight in the National Lakeshore and can be found in roughly 71% of all the forested areas of the park. The seeds of these trees, known as beech nuts, are packed with nutrients and serve as a vital food source for many animals that call Sleeping Bear Dunes home

Beech bark disease, as the name would suggest, is a disease that is currently plaguing American beech trees. It is caused by two organisms in what is known as a disease complex; an invasive insect native to Europe which feeds on beech trees known as beech scale or woolly beech scale, and a fungus that infests the tree through the feeding holes left by the insect. The recent planting aims to gradually reverse the decline of American beech trees at the National Lakeshore by spreading seeds which are resistant to the disease.

More seedlings will be grafted from resistant trees in the coming months and will then be planted in a different location next year as part of the same collaboration with Michigan Tech. The Natural Resources team at the National Lakeshore will take what they learn from both plantings and potentially start their own grafting project in-house in the future

For more in-depth information about the National Lakeshore, please go to www.nps.gov/slbe. Also, check out their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/sbdnl, Twitter site at www.twitter.com/sleepingbearnps, and Instagram at www.instagram.com/sleepingbearnps.