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Sudden oak death intensifies Sunday Nov 13, 2016 at 12:01 AM Mark Freeman Mail Tribune @MTwriterFreeman BROOKINGS — The banks of the Chetco River next week will be the latest locale where state and federal foresters will fight the sudden oak death pathogen that already has killed hundreds of thousands of tanoaks in Curry County and appears to be intensifying, scientists say. Crews will cut and burn infected tanoaks and the surrounding trees and brush on 26 acres of federal and private land along the Chetco's North Bank Road to destroy recently discovered SOD-infected trees, whose presence threatens oak stands and the nursery industry. The effort comes as forest pathologists log increases in the number of tanoaks known to be infected with the airborne pathogen, as well as the confirmation of a second case of infection by a European strain of SOD found last year in Curry County, the only place in North America it has been detected. "The sites on the Chetco are about as far east as it goes, about 11 miles inland," said Ellen Goheen, a plant pathologist at the federal J. Herbert Stone Nursery in Central Point and a member of a multi-agency team grappling with SOD. "It tends to be hugging the coast. "There's a strong possibility of it expanding within the tanoak range," she said. Since treatments began in 2006, the cutting and burning of infected tanoaks, as well as buffers around them, have shown promise in curbing the spread of SOD. "It's most effective when we're able to treat it fairly quickly and be fairly thorough," Goheen said. However, the North American strain of SOD, which was first discovered in Curry County in 2001, appears to be spreading, with 64 new infestations within a larger quarantine area discovered this year. That's up from 15 new cases in 2015, according to the Forest Service. Moreover, state foresters last week confirmed the second known infestation of the new and likely more intense European strain. It was discovered last year near the Pistol River, and this year it was discovered in another dozen tanoaks and one grand fir a half-mile south of last year's discovery. Like the North American strain, the European strain likely arrived via nursery transports, state foresters said.  The disease, and associated domestic and international trade restrictions to keep it in check, potentially threatens everything from timber production to plant nurseries and Christmas tree farms. SOD relies on damp conditions prevalent on the coast and naturally spreads during rains. However, humans can spread it as well, with soil on tires, the soles of hiking shoes, and by transplanting infected trees, Goheen said. About one-third of southwest Curry County has been under a state quarantine since its detection in 2001. The quarantine bans the cutting of tanoaks, including commercially cut firewood, from known infested areas. The planned treatment effort largely will be along North Bank Road east of Highway 101 up to Nook Bar, said spokeswoman Chamise Kramer of the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest. Motorists can expect 10- to 15-minute delays between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. during the work, which will begin Monday or Tuesday and run through the week, she said. State and federal agencies to date have spent almost $18.5 million on SOD monitoring and eradication, according to the Forest Service. Goheen said SOD could threaten tanoak riparian areas in western Josephine County, but Jackson County has only a few, scattered tanoaks. — Reach Mail Tribune reporter Mark Freeman at 541-776-4470 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MTwriterFreeman.