TOLEDO, Ohio — Anyone who has taken a walk through Wildwood or Oak Openings Metropark recently, may have noticed a few oak trees marked with flags.
They're marked because those trees have Oak Wilt, which is a dangerous disease caused by an invasive fungus.
To prevent the spread of Oak Wilt from tree to tree, crews use a 5 foot vibratory plow to dig deep trenches along the root system of the trees, separating any connections to other tree root systems.
Scott Carpenter with Metroparks Toledo said they have been managing the disease in their trees since 2015 and there is no cure for Oak Wilt.
The hope is to stay on top of the fungus before it gets out of hand.
"These steps were necessary to prevent massive loss of trees. Imagine, 80% of the oak trees here at Wildwood are red oaks, which are particularly susceptible," said Carpenter.
Scott said guests at the park will more than likely be seeing Metroparks crews out doing the Oak Wilt prevention work over the next few weeks.
The work that will also more than likely need to continue every year for the foreseeable future.