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The Department of Environmental Management (DEM) is asking Rhode Islanders to monitor their beech trees for signs of leaf damage from Beach Leaf Disease (BLD). Early symptoms of BLD include dark striping on the tree's leaves parallel to the leaf veins and are best seen by looking upward into the backlit canopy. Drastic leaf loss occurs for heavily symptomatic leaves during the growing season and may appear as early as June, while asymptomatic and mildly symptomatic leaves show no or minimal leaf loss. BLD was detected in the Ashaway area of Hopkinton, Rhode Island, in 2020 and in coastal Massachusetts. Before these findings, the disease was only known to be in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, and Connecticut.

Because of the seemingly random nature of disease in Rhode Island, DEM encourages homeowners and forest landowners to monitor their beech trees and report any suspected cases of BLD on DEM's Invasive Species Sighting Report webpage. Although BLD is relatively new in the U.S. and information is limited, links to additional information about the disease and photos are posted on the Division of Forest Environment's Current Threats page. If people have further questions, they should contact a licensed arborist or email Nancy Stairs, forestry program supervisor in DEM's Division of Forest Environment, via Nancy.Stairs@dem.ri.gov.

The Rhode Island Invasive Species Council is an outreach program of the Rhode Island Natural History Survey, The Rhode Island Agricultural Experiment Station, and The University of Rhode Island Cooperative Extension.

Special Note: RiversEdge West formerly known as the Tamarisk Coalition, change effective Mar 1, 2018.

The mission of RiversEdge West (formerly the Tamarisk Coalition) is to advance the restoration of riparian lands through collaboration, education, and technical assistance. One of the most challenging aspects of conducting restoration work can be acquiring and maintaining adequate funding to support the full spectrum of restoration efforts. To that end, RiversEdge West has developed a variety of tools intended to help practitioners secure funding to support this work.

Since 2001, RiversEdge West (formerly known as the Tamarisk Coalition) has been conducting riparian restoration research conferences and symposiums with a focus on impacts to riverside habitat in the arid western U.S. These gatherings are driven by RiversEdge West's commitment to advance the knowledge and practice of riparian restoration.

Produced by: Rod Randall, Western Australia Department of Agriculture
Note: Webarchive for Nature Conservancy's Global Invasive Species Team

"Rooted in Research" is the Northern Research Station's science delivery platform, with events and products tailored to natural resource professionals, partners, collaborators, and engaged citizens throughout the Northeast and Midwest. The bimonthly Rooted in Research focuses on the management implications of the latest research for natural resource managers. This publication features synthesized scientific information for high-priority land management needs, delivering key science findings to people who make and influence decisions about managing land and natural resources.

See also: Ecological Risk Screening Summaries for more species summaries

See also: Plants: Fruits, Vegetables, Flowers, and House Plants Fact Sheets for more resources

See also: Fact Sheets for more resources

Russian knapweed (Rhaponticum repens) is a nonnative weed in the western United States. It was introduced in the late 1800’s and is now invading and degrading cropland, rangeland, riparian areas, and roadsides. This deep-rooted perennial is persistent and difficult and expensive to control by conventional means, is toxic to horses and outcompetes native vegetation by producing chemicals that inhibit plant growth. Russian knapweed is listed by the State of Colorado as a noxious weed, to be suppressed, contained, or locally extirpated.

The Colorado Department of Agriculture (CDA) offers biocontrol agents to help suppress weeds and insect pests. When two gall-forming agents were developed and tested by CABI, and became available for use against Russian knapweed, the CDA was prepared to use them against the more than 50,000 hectares of the weed that currently infests Colorado.