California's Vanishing Oaks

Researcher have identified a fungus that has "spread from a single grove in Marin County to a 400-mile stretch of coastal woodlands from Santa Barbara to Mendocino, including the Santa Cruz and San Mateo coastal ranges."The oaks have an average life span of 300 years but were felled by the fungus in six weeks. The trees have little economic value as they are not a source of timber."They are the basis of our watersheds, which provide clean drinking water. They prevent erosion and flooding. They provide wildlife habitat to thousands of creatures, from owls to snails to salmon,'' said Janet Cobb, president of the California Oak Foundation in Oakland.