Groton ― Noank resident Christopher Andrews has looked out at two copper beech trees at Spicer Park from his home for the past 50 years.

He called copper beech trees the “queen of the forest” and described the two tall, more than century-old trees, with copper-colored leaves and large roots, as majestic.

But the trees have been affected by beech leaf disease, a disease affecting beech trees across the state, and their fate is uncertain, town officials said. Andrews said he is hoping, if at all possible, the trees can be saved.

“It really hurts to lose a tree this special,” he said.

Parks and Recreation Director Mark Berry said the situation with the two copper beech trees, located near the driveway entrance to the Spicer House Parks and Recreation administration building, is a difficult one.

He said the trees have been afflicted with a disease caused by nematodes, microscopic worms, which has compromised their health.

“While we are committed to preserving these iconic trees, we also have a responsibility to ensure the safety of park users, as the structural integrity of the trees is declining,” Berry said.

That said, the town is exploring a treatment program that may be able to slow the progression of the disease, Berry said. If the trees are eligible, the program could potentially postpone their removal and provide the town more time to monitor their health.

However, no final decision has been made regarding the exact timing of their removal, as the town is continuing to weigh all options.

Jeff Church, supervisor of the town Public Works department’s Roads and Streets Division and also the tree warden, said that while a notice was posted Sept. 19 on the trees that informed people that they have 10 days to appeal a removal in writing, after which a public hearing would be held, he explained that the town is instead first exploring a potential treatment and trying to be optimistic. He said no one has filed an official appeal, though people have called in opposition to removing the tree.

A tree specialist will conduct an evaluation to see the progression of the disease, whether it’s feasible to treat the trees, and what the price would be, he said.

He said they are beautiful-looking trees but a branch already fell on an unoccupied car outside the Spicer House. He said the Parks and Recreation Department has trimmed some of the dead wood, and the town will know more in the next couple of weeks.

“We’re exploring all avenues,” he said.

Beech leaf disease being monitored

Beth Bernard, outreach forester at the Bureau of Natural Resources Forestry Division of the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, said beech leaf disease emerged in Connecticut in 2019, though it was in other states before then.

She said the disease has spread quickly throughout Connecticut forests and has affected many of the American beech trees there. It also affects the copper beech tree, a European beech tree primarily planted as an ornamental and landscape tree.

Tom Worthley, forestry expert and UConn Extension professor, said that beech leaf disease is a relatively recent phenomenon “but you would be hard-pressed today to find a beech tree in the state of Connecticut that does not have symptoms of beech leaf disease.”

Worthley said that nematodes feed on the trees, causing misshapen and discolored leaves.

Bernard explained that the nematodes spread by water droplets between trees when it rains and by animals moving from tree to tree.

Dark banding on leaves is a sign of early beech leaf disease, while severe symptoms manifest as leaves that “are heavily banded, shrunken, and crinkled with a thickened, leathery texture,” according to a pest alert notice from the Forest Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

According to research from the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, European beech trees infected by the disease will have some banded leaves, and many leaves that “look tattered or distorted.”

Worthley said the disease affects the appearance of the trees, slows their growth, and lowers the general vigor of the trees, which then can leave the tree susceptible to other problems.

He said recently a number of beech trees have also been infected by beech bark disease, which is a slow developing fungal complex that will eventually kill the trees.

Bernard said the DEEP is monitoring beech trees on state lands. Scientists from the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station are studying beech leaf disease, but there is no known cure.

Worthley said that arborists can use a phosphite compound as a potential treatment on ornamental trees with beech leaf disease, but it is expensive so it is not practical to be used in the woods. For woodland owners, he said, there are programs to help improve the forest such as to reduce the density of sick trees.

k.drelich@theday.com