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Sisters board hears concerns about bark‑beetle damage and slash disposal
Summary
Board members reported increased bark‑beetle tree mortality and raised concerns about summer pruning, leftover slash and limited disposal options; OSU Extension offered to publish guidance and help promote best practices.
A board member told the Sisters Urban Forestry Board they had noticed "the amount of, bark beetle killed in town," and urged more community education and clearer best practices for contractors and residents about pruning timing and slash removal.
Sarah Lowe of Oregon State University Extension said guidance and outreach are within the extension's remit and proposed publishing a web article and promoting it through a future extension newsletter. Board members described local pressures — summer commercial pruning, large development jobs leaving slash on site, and constrained landfill and disposal capacity — and asked Lowe to consider disposal options and regional variations when drafting materials. Lowe also suggested that communities could use inventory and monitoring modules to track suspect trees earlier in fall and winter, when interventions are more likely to be effective.
