Introduction

Woodlands were sampled on Fort Hood Military Installation that were typical of the oak-juniper savanna ecosystem in Central Texas. The tree disease oak wilt, caused by Ceratocystis fagacearum (Bretz) Hunt, is a common disturbance throughout the region. Oak wilt management is a viable option for reducing losses from the disease, but the decision to implement control options is not always obvious. Further information is needed to assess the benefits of controlling oak wilt when compared to the costs of deploying expensive and disruptive management tactics. Specifically, the objective of this project was to determine whether oak wilt is having a detrimental impact on endangered species habitat. This information would presumably be useful to natural resource managers responsible for oak wilt management decisions. The following topics describe the study site, the status of an endangered species that may be influenced by oak wilt management decisions, and the disease.