Yes. Finding a logger for red oak is tough.

Those issues are part of why I'm planting white oak acorns to diversify my property.

Certainly a good idea to have a mixture.

Market trends change, right now seems all red colored hardwoods are out of style, red oak, Black Cherry and white wood is in style like hard and soft maple.. But it’s nothing new, back in the late 60’s it was the same with red oak and cherry. Then in the early 70’s you couldn’t give Hard Maple logs away, and today they are one of the hottest species out there .

Thank you for the update.

Next March, scratch the bark on a branch. If it’s green underneath, it’s alive. If it’s brown, it’s dead. Live trees have buds for spring.

It’s important to plant different trees species! I see a lot of dead ash trees in Minnesota.

Locust trees are doing well in Montana as are linden trees. There are several varieties of American Elm that are resistant to Dutch Elm disease and grow 4ft a year. Prairie Expedition is one variety.

a forester told me that Red variety of oaks thin themselves about every 100 years. there is also a canker that is affecting some of them, you'll see the bark come off in a small place and the sapwood is black, turns white when the tree dies. one thing for certain, you see the canker on the tree it will die! now the chestnut oaks are dying in numbers here. no canker, they are just dying.

About 10 years ago, something was taking out a bunch of white oaks very similar to what is happening now to red oaks.

Bur Oak blight works them fairly hard here, not as bad as wilt in the Reds though.

I hadn't heard of bur oak blight.

Interesting oak article. Very much science based. I'm not sure how accurate this Ohio article is to other states though

https://www.cincinnati.com/story/ne...round-ohio-fall-autumn-2022/69574443007/

Occasionally I see people cutting oak trees during oak wilt season and I shake my head wondering what they are thinking

The heart wood of Red Oak tends to rot out leaving a hollow tree, that's why loggers shy away.

Never heard of gypsy moth killing oak . Now ash trees! They are dead and falling by the thousands around here .

Several years ago the state started advertising that oak wilt season ends 7/15, but that is too early in my opinion. I was at a forestry seminar last month and the Federal forester happened to mention in his presentation that the guideline should be later than July 15th

Wasps are killing them down here or at least that’s what my logger cousin said

Our company has 4 seperate logging crews, we move to private sales April 15 to July 15 the private lands cut during the restricted time seem to be way ahead in regeneration the following couple years. Quite over the oak wilt, to far advanced. The young dense growth seems to be doing well. The oak were losing for the most part are old declining trees left from cuts 40 years ago.

They weaken old declining trees. The oaks were falling and dying in a few years anyway. Still not good. I have Ash regeneration in my bottom land. Most new Ash are 2 to 6 inch diameter. But I suspect the Emarald Ash borers will return....

Our true Red Oak are good quality. The Black Oak is often confused with Red Oak, it is often hollow, Black Oak is a scrubby brushy tree here, Red Oak are mostly clean with a few good logs before branches. Blacks make great firewood though.