What has Sudden Oak Death's (Phytophthora ramorum's) impact been thus far on commercial industries and the public?

US nursery trade impacts - Craig Regelbrugge, Sr. Director of Government Relations, American Nursery & Landscape Association, Washington, DC cregelbrugge@anla.org.

Phytophthora ramorum 's impacts to Canada - Dr. Eric Allen, Research Scientist, Natural Resources Canada, Canadian Forest Service, Pacific Forestry Centre, Victoria, British Columbia. eallen@PFC.Forestry.CA.

Urban forestry/arboriculture impacts - Susan J. Frankel, Plant Pathologist, USDA Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Region, State and Private Forestry, Vallejo, CA sfrankel@fs.fed.us.

Sudden Oak Death in Marin County, A case study of community impacts - Stacy Carlsen, Agricultural Commissioner, Marin County, California, USA scarlsen@co.marin.ca.us

How may one quantify or even describe the impacts of sudden oak death and the other diseases that Phytophthora ramorum has incited? In this session, several authors will examine impacts to the nursery industry, Canada, urban forestry and communities.

Sudden oak death has evolved from a dramatic urban forestry problem, to a worldwide nursery issue; it threatens trade and commerce of Douglas-fir and coast redwood and agricultural and horticultural products. Affected entities include, private homeowners, the strawberry and wine industries, subsistence firewood cutters, and multi-billion dollar international corporations. Economic issues are quantifiable in dollars; while it may be difficult to estimate value-losses for trees in backyards and loosely regulated industries such as firewood cutting, the impacts are quantifiable. Several of the following papers will provide estimates of the economic impacts incurred from Phytophthora ramorum.

The social impacts of sudden oak death are more difficult to describe, analyze, and comprehend. Sudden oak death erupted in an area where more than 7 million people live. Phytophthora ramorum killed groups of trees and destroyed the landscape of entire neighborhoods. The immediate emotional impact was shock and fear, to see the forest, normally long-lived, die-off and not know why, when, or if it would stop, and what it would ultimately mean for the forest. At first, people were outraged that more had not been done to address the issue. They were afraid, not knowing what to do to save their trees and protect their homes from fire and falling trees. (Figure 1).

The public's concern is difficult to quantify, but may be measured in the amount of legislative activity, dollars allocated to address the issue, and media coverage. In 2000, four sudden oak death bills were introduced in the California legislature, with one bill passed in each subsequent year. Nationally, both California US senators took an interest in sudden oak death, along with the California delegation, resulting in sudden oak death bills in the House and Senate. Locally, County Supervisors from Humboldt to San Luis Obispo banded together to form the Sudden Oak Death Coastal Council. Over the past three years, more than $13 million has been allocated for research and management of sudden oak death. Media coverage has been extensive, with well over 200 articles from 2002, clipped and archived in the California Oak Mortality Task Force archive.

Sudden oak death has captivated coastal California residents. The morbid fascination with this disease has grown as its host and geographic range unfolded. Sudden oak death has become part of California's culture. There is a rock band out of Davis, California called "Sudden Oak Death" that uses newspaper quotes about the disease in their advertisements. In September 2002, the front page of the San Francisco Chronicle featured the story "Spheres of influence" about the fight over Barry Bond's record-breaking, home run ball. The story set the tone for our current times by saying … "as President Bush lobbies for war and California's redwoods wilt from pestilence."

Sudden oak death resonates with the mood of America in the early 2000's. As America confronts the threat of terrorism and economic uncertainty, the story of sudden oak death -- a new, unseen, and unknown enemy-- destroying our beloved forests echoes the angst in people's hearts and minds. The story of Phytophthora ramorum translates easily into "Godzilla" and the scientists battling it into the Lone Ranger and Tonto. These powerful fanciful images heightened the public's interest in the problem. The reality of the disease and the actual efforts to address it are vastly more complex, subtle, and difficult. Sudden oak death's psychological undertones were appropriately touched upon in an editorial on sudden oak death in the New York Times on October 5, 2002, which noted …"One of the striking things about the sudden eruption of a pathogen like this is the way it exposes the limits of what we know about the world we live in. It reminds us how recent our scientific awareness of that world really is."

The tremendous concern over sudden oak death has demonstrated that people care about forests. As sudden oak death exposes the vulnerability and preciousness of our forests there is a continued fight to strengthen forest and agriculture policy to sustain forests for future generations, for wildlife needs, and other ecological concerns. With continued effort, positive impacts of sudden oak death will yet emerge: improved science for early-detection of invasive species, emergency response protocols and policies to protect our forests.