Seam Of Stain

One of the trees that we have recently cut during the road clearing showed definite signs of staining.
The staining is proof of a form of disease that can travel through the roots of the trees in the forest. It is one of those things that can happen in the most healthy of stands and can take on larger areas of the forest if left to travel unabated.
Before falling, this tree did not look really sick, but it did look peaked. The leader (the topmost yearly growth) did not shoot up like it had been doing, the green needles were not the dark forest green like the neighbor trees, the new sprouts on the tips of the branches were not robust like a healthy tree, and ants had moved in around the base of the tree. Trees can ‘talk’ to others in the forest simply by the minute changes in their individual biology, the ants can sense the talk and move in to take advantage. Before long, birds like woodpeckers, move in to gobble ants (a favorite activity).
It is during this time that the roots can ‘shake hands’ with the roots of other fir trees and poof, the stain disease is transmitted. After falling this tree we did a detailed walk around the area. We identified 7-10 other trees that might be similarly infected. They are now on our list to be felled as soon as the road has been completed. The area that will open up will be planted next spring with other varieties in the effort to control the outbreak to only the currently affected trees.
We were able to find and remove this tree before it was completely dead. If we would leave it standing, the stain would become a full circle and kill the tree completely. This could take one year or several years.
Once this tree is down the hill and into the landing, the butt pieces will be cut off. Usually during this stage of the disease it will not go above the bottom 5 or 6 feet. The rest of the tree can still be sent to market.