Butternut (J. cinerea) monitoring project located on edge of natural range. The project’s goals are to locate butternut trees within a 1000 acre possible habitat zone, release them, evaluate overall health, and map location with GPS / GIS technologies. Periodic monitoring will be conducted to tract individual tree health.

Butternut (Juglans cinerea) populations, throughout its range in North America, are being jeopardized by a lethal fungus: Sirococcus clavigignenti-juglandacearum. This project’s goals are to locate butternut trees within a 1000 acre possible habitat zone, release them from competing vegetation, evaluate overall health, and map their location with GPS / GIS technologies. Future periodic monitoring will be conducted to tract individual tree health.

The project site, Lead Mine Conservation Area in Dallas County, Missouri, is located on the western edge of J. cinerea’s natural range. The property is managed by the Missouri Department of Conservation. Besides being on the edge of butternut’s natural range, this site has other very unique qualities. It is in the watershed of a north flowing river: the Niangua River and the common features surrounding this area are limestone and sandstone glades and bluffs, caves, springs, and calcareous wet meadows. (Ozark Oak Woodland/Forest Hills and Breaks Land Type Association.) The dominate soil types in the project area are Cedargap silt loam, Cedargap cherty silt loam, Racket silt loam and Gasconade-rock outcrop complex.

Project results were finalized in July 2001 and presented through an ArcView cover map with overlays of soils, aspect and elevation.