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Aww Bananahead weren't you the guy who was telling everyone on every post "to get a life" because they favored regulation? An Ohia that has been dead and down for years is unlikely to carry live pathogens. Local academics are using scare tactics to hold everything in place while they secure funding. I reccommended Kimo get people to pay him to remove, not that he go raiding State Parks. Painting cut ends of newly dead Ohia with high concentration borax forms a mineral barrier and fungus won't leap. Read my posts again if you want to brush up on innovative Ohia care.
Unlike Ohia which are dead everywhere, people are very protective of their Kiawe because of the value to honey bees and cooking fires. Not saying it's endemic, and that has nada to do with the fact there is much less of it now than when I was a kid in the eighties (overharvesting). Anyone else remember? When did you get here Baha?
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There is a quarantine in effect on ohia trees across the Big Island.
Rule #1, do not move ohia wood:
http://cms.ctahr.hawaii.edu/rod/Home.aspx
"Only fear real things, such as minds full of delusions." -Last Aphorisms
"I'm at that stage in life where I stay out of discussions. Even if you say 1+1=5, you're right - have fun." - Keanu Reeves
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I have plenty of Ohia. ROD has killed some trees. The biggest healthiest ohia I had in my yard died. And now I need to take it down. Its over 50' tall multi-trunk with 3' diameter. It seems like the older trees are dying and the younger trees are not affected. At least at my place. and I have hundreds of ohias. Very strange this ROD.
One Thing I can always be sure of is that things will never go as expected.
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"An Ohia that has been dead and down for years is unlikely to carry live pathogens."
Do they come with death certificates ?
How do you know these down trees don't carry the pathogen and you aren't the one spreading it ?
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Kimo, assuming you are using it for cooking, I like waiwi almost as good as keawe, and way better than ohia. Ohia tends to produce a more sooty smoke.
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A Master Gardener gave the Water Garden Club an update on ROD this evening. Just in the last few days, they've identified a vector; two species of the ambrosia beetle. The beetle is covered with microscopic hairs that hold spores of the fungus. It bores into the tree, depositing spores as it goes, lays its eggs, and seals the hole (apparently, the buglets eat the fungus). The fungus then spreads throughout the tree. Everything involved is infected with the fungus--the bug, the bug's poop, baby bugs, sawdust--and can easily be spread to other areas, even by walking or driving through the sawdust.
They believe this is similar to Dutch Elm Disease and Texas Oak Wilt, and are starting to try a chemical that stalls out those infections. Unfortunately, the chemical must be injected into each tree every 2 years, so you might be able to save your trees, but this doesn't hold out much hope for the forests .
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Do any of you actually spend time in the forest? So disconnected. Try every day for two years and then give advice about Ohia forests. The experts who have recommended the ban on moving, mean well, but have also let the forests die for ten years and have generated no solutions for us, so how exactly are they experts? There are also exceptions to the Ohia ban for heat treated or sealed wood. Borax is a sealer and can be burned because it is a naturally occurring mineral. Burning in place is the best idea.
Is it dead yet? If an Ohia is separated from it's root ball and is down, it's going to be dead/dead within a couple of years. The CF pathogen seems to move on or die w/in a year of nutrient cessation. If a dead looking Ohia is still standing up, it actually still has a chance come back after years of dormancy. We put cooled ash near one of our "dead" looking trees (of more than 2 yrs) and a branch shot out of the side about 6 months later! If you burn diseased wood and spread the potash on a healthy tree after a "cook fire" and that tree never gets sick, end of problem. A kind of inoculation. Guess it's easier for some to be pessimistic than to chance it.
Sorry for the cross feed Kimo, guy thinks he's number one moke. Careful about collecting Kiawe in South Point, much of the empty land there is Hawaiian Homeland that was appropriated by the US gov for a satellite base and is kapu (from both camps) and is the source of much aggravation for many (even worse than Ohia). That's prolly why it's "choke" with Kiawe. Unless Gray lady is inviting you to her place, careful about where you harvest. Dead Ohia is abundant in Puna and is great for cook fires and the ash is vital to save our dying trees.
The junk trees give off the black sooty ash when burned. Ohia makes ash as white as snow. It burns hot like Kiawe. Spread cooled ashes in forest, save trees!
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Wood ash is anti fungal and anti parasitic. Abundant, Easy to spread in spare time. All of God's creatures are hardwired to respond to signs of fire.
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let the forests die for ten years and have generated no solutions for us
It's past time for a reforestation effort.
A "non-native" watershed is far better than none at all.
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Thanks Lee for adding the new info. You got it down in a more orderly fashion than I was trying to put together.
P.S. Cory loves his tiles.
Peace and long life
Peace and long life
