Saving the trees that kill each other - oak wilt

American Forests, Jan-Feb, 1995 by Norah Deakin Davis

The meeting at which Peters found out about his trees was held by the Castlewood-Oak Valley Neighborhood Association. Some 15 or 20 people attended the association's early meetings on oak wilt, but later gatherings attracted 50 to 70 homeowners. Castlewood is a quiet, upper-middle-class neighborhood with three- and four-bedroom brick houses. The Castlewood association formed an oak-wilt steering committee, which raised more than $8,000 during a two-month, door-to-door campaign. The Texas Forest Service provided a matching grant from U.S. Forest Service funds.

Even though Bill Peters' oaks are mostly gone, he made a contribution to the trenching project.

Bemoaning the loss of his trees, Peters says, "When you've lost something that you've manicured over the years, you know it doesn't just grow up to 15 or 20 feet in height overnight."

With the help of a program run by the city, he's already picked five trees to replant along the curb. Needless to say, none of those will be oaks.

NORAH DAVIS is former managing editor of AMERICAN FORESTS, writes on natural-resources issues aboard her sailboat, Richmond Studio, in Washington, DC.