Lingering Ash Trees in SE Michigan? Part 3 - The Canopy Casts Doubt

Timecoded table of topics is below. Here is the playlist for accessing Parts 1 and 2:    • Lingering Ash Trees (Michigan)   00:02 INTRODUCTION by Connie Barlow. Survey of potential living ash trees during the past 4 weeks have made her realize that "THE CANOPY CASTS DOUBT." While diamond-shaped bark on many forest trees along the Huron River stimulated this ongoing assessment, observation of "OPPOSITE V. ALTERNATE" branching pattern within very high canopies is impeded by the density of summer leaves. Thus, possibly all of the large potentials already documented may actually be BITTERNUT HICKORY trees, not green or white ash. 06:42 NEW FOCUS OF PART 3: Looking for dead and down trees to assess ash deaths. Evidence video-documented in bark and especially the diversity of tunnel patterns evident in the GALLERIES beneath the bark. 10:09 NEXT STEP will be observing canopy branch patterns after the leaves drop. Because non-native AMUR HONEYSUCKLE has patches of dense subcanopy (20 feet high) and its leaf-drop is latest of all plants, Connie will wait till late fall to use her zoom video-camera to search for OPPOSITE V. ALTERNATE in the canopy again. 11:20 NEXT STEP in late fall will have Connie focus on smaller potential ash trees (5 inch DBH) that may have been too small for the beetles to lay eggs on during the first wave of invasion. This may be the best way to find LINGERING ASH. 12:05 Advocacy for making NATURAL HISTORY OBSERVATIONS and thus documenting the context as well as the species of interest. 14:47 VIDEO-DOCUMENTATION OF AUGUST 15, 2026 begins in the cemetery where a pair of hickory trees are documented with nuts and alternate branch pattern. 20:07 RECENTLY DOWNED LOG at the forest trail entrance is examined for bark, exit holes, and galleries of larval tunnels. 24:21 Searching for "opposite v. alternate" branch pattern in two living potentials in the UPLAND part of the forest trail. Connie pauses for a minute at 25:35 to show PAWPAW seedlings she had planted in previous years. 26:37 Closeup of alternate leaves (and a hickory form of bud) of a small Bitternut Hickory. 27:13 BOTTOMLAND TRAIL observations begin with a bark & gallery survey of 3 RECENTLY DEAD TREES. 30:30 Another downed log (Patch 4B) has bark and gallery evidence. 33:02 BLACK WILLOW & ELM along the river, plus another fallen tree with bark and galleries. 36:15 Another potential dead ash at a pawpaw seed planting (Patch 3C to 6), then a broad survey of old treefalls. 39:55 INLAND SECTION documentation begins with scrutiny of dead ash at Patch A and C, culminating in a monoculture of AMUR HONEYSUCKLE shading many old logs 45:05. 47:17 SECTION 8 survey begins with OPPOSITE branching of a dead BOX ELDER. 48:47 Documenting canopies of 2 living potentials. Possible hickory nut at 51:28. TREE PLAYLISTS by Connie Barlow on this youtube channel:    • Rewilding Pawpaw in Michigan      • Helping Forests Walk (climate adaptation)      • Rocky Mountain Conifers - assisted migration      • Coast Redwoods - assisted migration      • Torreya taxifolia - assisted migration      • Joshua Tree - assisted migration   Connie Barlow's bio and publications: https://thegreatstory.org/CB-writings... Her Researchgate page: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/...