Mystery disease turning Hot Springs Village Loblolly Pines brown
Due to a mystery disease attacking Hot Springs Village Loblolly Pine trees, the forestry division of the Public Services Department plans to take serious measures to eradicate the illness and save what trees they can. In addition, some of the Loblolly Pines are also suffering from an infestation of IPS Beetles. The beetle infestation occurs on the perimeter of Granada and Isabella Golf Courses and at Iniciador Way. The affected areas around the edges of the golf courses are on common and privately-owned property. Click here to read an article addressing a previous IPS Beetle infestation.
Three foresters and the Arkansas Department of Agriculture have not been able to identify the disease.
Diseased trees on POA common property around the Nature Conservatory will be clear-cut. Todd Noles, Superintendent of Lakes, Dams, Common Property, and Forestry, said, “We are not going to cut any of the trees on the Conservatory land, owned by the Nature Conservatory of Arkansas.” Green Bay Packaging, Inc. is scheduled to begin clear-cut operations near the Nature Conservatory on Tuesday, August 8.
Noles explained that even though this is considered clear-cutting, some smaller trees will remain. A wildlife food plot will also be established, using staff and seed donated by Arkansas Game and Fish Commission. This two-acre area will grow soybeans, Bermuda and rye grasses, and several varieties of oats, providing wildlife with a smorgasbord.
Tentatively scheduled to begin within a couple of weeks (end of June and first of July), overgrown stands on Camisa Way, off of Jarandilla, will be thinned for the health of the forest. Thinning of stands is done to eliminate overcrowding. A small strip of common property off Ola Lane will also be thinned. Some thinning on Maderas Drive, behind the Isabella Golf Maintenace Facility, will occur. The Maderas Drive project will not begin until after the anticipated road work in this area is complete.
Although we will earn money from the sale of the lumber, the cutting is being done for proper forestry management purposes to maintain the health of the forest. “We are trying to eradicate the disease and IPS beetle infestation, in addition to thinning some overgrown areas,” said Noles. If we wait until after the trees die, we lose this profit.
The forestry management projects will not affect traffic.
This issue is tentatively scheduled to come before the HSVPOA Board of Directors on Wednesday, June 21, when Rejean Skelton from the Arkansas Department of Agriculture is scheduled to give a presentation. Bart Langford, Common Property, Forestry, and Wildlife Committee Member and registered Forester, will also present information on the Loblolly Pine problems at the meeting.
The mystery illness is happening in other Arkansas locations. The unknown ailment is most noticeably affecting trees in the southeastern part of the state, according to a report from KATV News. “Afflicted trees lack the foliage of healthy ones; their needles turn brown and fall during the intermediate stages of the illness,” states the KATV report.
“The foliage of affected trees often turn a grey-brown,” stated Vic Ford, Associate Vice President of Agriculture and Natural Resources at the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture.
By Cheryl Dowden; Photography by Todd Noles
Have tree samples been sent to a diagnostic lab that specializes in tree disease to identify the disease?
I have diseased trees in my property. Will this POA project address private residential lots?
Hi Jim. Thank you for commenting. Please contact Ken Unger using the form located on the Public Services section of the Explore the Village website. When you use this form, it gives you a record of your report and helps to ensure your comment goes directly to the right department and also the Director of Public Services, Ken Unger. You will need to scroll down to fill out the form. https://www.explorethevillage.com/services/public-services Thanks again. – Cheryl Dowden
What I’d like to understand better is that there must be diseased trees also located on privately owned lots in the same areas. It’s great that we address the problems on common property, and, I assume, also on POA owned lots, but how does the POA address this with absentee owners who are likely not inclined to do much, if any, tree maintenance on their lots.
Melinda, thanks for commenting. The staff is currently in discussion on how to handle “tree problems” on privately owned land. – Cheryl Dowden