Restoration Projects

Oak Seedling Planting by Lake Morena

In the spring of 2022, foresters with the Cleveland National Forest (US Forest Service) planted 430 oak seedlings on 68 acres of the Cottonwood Creek-Buckman Springs area, east of Lake Morena in the southern part of San Diego County. The seedlings were planted in the hopes of replacing 107 mature oaks that have died over the last decade of GSOB infestation in the area. Stay tuned for updates on sapling recruitment!

Oak Restoration in Green Valley

The Green Valley GSOB infestation was identified in 2015. Green Valley, Calif., is a private small inter-mountain valley community inholding within Angeles National Forest. Coast live oak (Quercus agrifolia) is the main tree species in the valley.

The US Forest Service and LA County Fire's Forestry Division (LACF) manage the infestation in Green Valley-area public and private lands respectively, with multiple applications of carbaryl to control background infestations and mapping, monitoring, and removal of amplifier (heavily infested) trees with homeowners' permission.

Since the summer of 2021, LACF Forester Melissa Valente has conducted outreach and managed the infestation in Green Valley. A CALFIRE treatment grant provides funding for restoration activities: mapping and removing infested trees, preventively treating less infested and uninfested areas, and collecting and rearing acorns of other, less susceptible species of oak found in the upper watershed of the same mountain range. The seedling propagation program in a LACF greenhouse in the area is still underway.

Managing GSOB in Orange County

The GSOB infestation in Weir Canyon Regional Park, a wilderness area owned by Orange County Parks and managed by the Irvine Ranch Conservancy, since 2014. Yearly field surveys, infested tree removal, and insecticide treatments have controlled the spread of the infestation. Learn more about the site's monitoring and restoration efforts with this ArcGIS storymap.

San Diego Students Collect and Plant Acorns in Their Community

Individual Tree Shelters and Weed Guards Materials

Maureen Anderson of the US Forest Service initiated a project in the fall of 2009 with grade-school students teaching them how to collect, test, and store acorns until planting. Students are from the Pine Valley and Descanso communities - communities that have witnessed the impact of extreme oak tree mortality due to the Goldspotted Oak Borer.

The US Forest Service, along with the help of local students, planted 100 acorns protected by individual tree shelters and weed guards and 400 unprotected but flagged acorns in Cuyamaca State Park. In a second planting event in Descanso at Camp Oliver, another 100 acorns protected by individual tree shelters and weed guards were sown.

This is an ongoing study. Students are projected to assist in additional planting events within the Descanso Ranger District, including Burnt Rancheria and Laguna Campgrounds.

More Information

Hands-On Acorn Activity (PDF)
An easy to follow activity illustrating basic acorn planting guidelines including collecting, testing, and storing acorns for planting.

To see more photos, launch GSOB Restoration Gallery on Flickr.