sudden_oak_death_bear_valley
A tanoak infected with a pernicious pathogen rapidly spreading on the California coast is one of many around Bear Valley Visitor Center and other Bay Area tourist spots. A University of California, Berkeley scientist who tracks sudden oak death is urging better protections against its spread.   David Briggs

Sudden oak death rates in California are soaring. In the past year, the rate in Marin County has doubled, and growing infestations at tourist destinations like the Bear Valley Visitor Center are causing special concern for the Berkeley scientist who conducts annual surveys of the disease. 

At the Point Reyes National Seashore’s most frequented visitor center, where 350,000 visitors pass annually, a stand of trees is streaked deep brown. The oaks and tanoaks are succumbing…