SOD BLITZ Survey Project

Communities Coming Together in the Fight Against Sudden Oak Death

SOD Blitz 2024 – Schedule, Registration, and Training Links

SOD Blitz Station located at Dominican University, outside the main entrance to the Science Building, 155 Palm Avenue, San Rafael. (Please approach via Acacia Avenue: walk through a little park and cross over a wooden bridge)

Wolfgang Schweigkofler   wolfgang.schweigkofler@dominican.edu

Kristin Jacob akristinjakob@gmail.com

Sudden Oak Death (SOD), a serious exotic disease, is threatening the survival of tanoak and several oak species in coastal forests of California, between Del Norte and Monterey Counties. The disease spreads during wet years on leaves of California bay laurels and tanoaks. Some management options are available (sanitation, chemical preventative treatments, bay removal), but they are effective only if implemented before oaks and tanoaks are infected. The presence of SOD symptomatic bay leaves generally precedes oak infections. Hence, timely detection of the disease on bay laurel leaves is key. SOD blitzes inform and educate the community about SOD, get local citizen scientists involved in detecting the disease on bay laurel and tanoak leaves, and produce detailed local maps of disease distribution. Additionally, the samples collected during the SOD blitzes allow for a broad genetic screening to detect a new and more aggressive variant of the disease which should be curtailed. Given the amount of rainfall in 2024, SOD is expected to be spreading and may have arrived or resurfaced at a site near you. If you want to be part of the solution, become a volunteer at one of the 2024 SOD Blitzes: schedule, locations, and other info at sodblitz.org