Trees in our region face a wide array of challenges. We've got sudden oak death, emerald ash borers coming for the ash trees, issues with douglas fir... the list goes on for a while.
Richard Sniezko is a geneticist with the U.S. Forest Service, based at the Dorena Genetic Resource Center in Cottage Grove. He's got experience with a number of tree pathogens, including the white pine blister rust affecting whitebark pine trees.
Sniezko will host a workshop on resistance to disease for tree experts across the country (July 24th). We pick his brain about the many challenges and the tools science is bringing to fend them off.