Two trees from the 1800s near the Theodore Roosevelt Home in Oyster Bay, N.Y., have been scheduled for a trim and likely removal by the eastern National Park Service Arborist Incident Response Team because of the fungal Dutch elm disease.
Plans to address the American elm, circa 1870-1895, and silver maple, circa 1895, were announced in a Jan. 9 National Park Service news release. The trees “present a potential fall hazard to the Theodore Roosevelt Home,” which is in the Sagamore Hill National Historic Site.
“The removal of these diseased trees is unfortunate, but necessary to protect the structure and walking paths surrounding the Theodore Roosevelt Home,” Superintendent Jonathan Parker said in the release. “We’ve selectively treated, as well as trimmed hazardous branches from these two trees over the years to prolong their lifespans. We’re now looking forward to planting a new generation of disease-resistant varieties that will provide shade and beauty for the next 100-plus years.”
Disease-resistant varieties of the same species will replace the American elm and silver maple, the release reported. Work was expected to be finished by Jan. 13.
“The park has worked for a number of years to slow the progress of Dutch elm disease, a lethal vascular wilt disease, but the damage is now too far advanced,” the release said. “Of the estimated 77 million elms in North America in 1930, over 75% have been lost to Dutch elm disease.”
Dutch elm disease was first discovered in the U.S. in the 1930s and came from logs imported from Europe, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Invasive Species Information Center said. Particularly affecting American elms, the disease has been found throughout the U.S., except in the desert Southwest.
