From Kate Palmieri, UC Berkley spokeswoman:

A Sudden Oak Death (SOD) community meeting will be held at Woodside Town Hall on August 2, 2007, from 7:30 – 9:30 p.m..

A cooperative venture of the Woodside Conservation and Environmental Health Committee, Portola Valley Environmental Committee, University of California, and California Oak Mortality Task Force (COMTF), the workshop is intended to provide disease information, preventative treatment options, and information on how to remove and dispose of infested material properly.

There will also be an open panel discussion during which workshop participants can express their concerns and brainstorm options for proactive community activities and management strategies.

Woodside Town Hall is at 2955 Woodside Rd., Woodside.

“Local residents are concerned about the landscape-level impacts Sudden Oak Death is having to their communities in San Mateo County,” said Mark Stanley, Chair of the COMTF. “By bringing residents together, we can empower them with the necessary tools to take action as individuals while also emphasizing the importance of a collaborative community response to this county-wide problem.”

Caused by the plant pathogen Phytophthora ramorum, Sudden Oak Death is severely impacting woodlands throughout San Mateo County. Since the 1990s, P. ramorum has killed at least a million oak and tanoak trees in California.

For more information, or to reserve a place at the meeting, contact Teresa Dentino at teresa@thefinancial411.com or (650) 851-8959.

For more information on Sudden Oak Death and P. ramorum, go to the COMTF website at www.suddenoakdeath.org