UMaine efforts to conserve American elm featured in Washington Post
A feature for the Washington Post Magazine highlighted the University of Maine’s contribution to efforts to conserve the American elm tree in Castine, Maine. The article noted that back in the 1970s, when there was no treatment for the devastating Dutch elm disease that decimated tree populations throughout the United States, University of Maine researcher Richard Campana was one of the first to try to create a serum to inoculate against the disease. Castine’s elms were injected with his experimental fungicide, and some believe it was this treatment that helped save many of the elms. The disease has since found its way to the tree populations in Castine. Arborist Bill Burman is working with researchers at the University of Maine to study infected trees in the area.