LANSING, Mich. — About a month ago the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) sent out a statement warning black walnut tree owners to be on the lookout for people wanting to take their trees on false pretenses.

Call them the black walnut tree scammers; according to multiple reports made to MDARD as well as the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, the scam artists may have been from a logging company looking to buy valuable walnut trees on the cheap by telling woodlot owners their trees were infected with thousand cankers disease (TCD). According to MDARD, TCD has not been detected in Michigan.

This problem has been happening over the course of 6-9 months, said John Bedford, pest response program specialist at MDARD.

"Because of the ongoing nature of the reports we felt there was substantial evidence the activity was taking place and we thought it was a good idea to put out an advisory," he said. "What these people were trying to do is gain access to people’s walnut trees."

Bedford added that black walnut can be valuable if it’s a veneer log. Such a log could be worth $1,000. The scammers were apparently offering the woodlot owners money for the walnut, but it’s not clear how much.

He added the agency hasn’t been able to find out if the problem involved just one logging firm or perhaps several. MDARD put out the advisory after one individual, located in the Grand Rapids area, provided a great deal of detailed information about what happened when he was approached.

That was in August. Since then there have been no more reports of such activity. Bedford hopes it’s over by now. The woodlot owner in question "was really upset that this activity was taking place. He was smart enough to stop and ask questions."

He said the agency wants people to know there are other ways to manage their woodlots. According to the advisory, if TCD is eventually detected in Michigan, the state will make an announcement identifying the affected areas and outline a response plan, as well as how quarantine restrictions will apply to the affected area. That could be only a small portion of one county.

Although TCD is a threat to black walnut, it hasn’t spread rapidly or impacted black walnut on a large scale. It is caused by a combination of small beetles boring into walnut branches and a fungus introduced by the beetles. The crowns of affected trees begin dying and the tree eventually dies.

In May 2010, MDARD established a quarantine on black walnut importations in order to protect in-state trees. The quarantine includes nursery stock, budwood, scionwood and green lumber as well as other dead, cut or fallen wood. These include logs, stumps, roots and branches and chips, as well as any other article that could carry the beetle or fungus that causes TCD.

The quarantine does not include nuts, nut meats or hulls, processed lumber that is completely bark-free and finished wood products that are bark-free. Michigan has 8.5 million black walnut trees with an economic value of more than $86 million. There are also more than 80 walnut growers in the state, with approximately 4,000 trees in nut production.

TCD affects walnut trees in many western states, as well as in Tennessee and Pennsylvania. The walnut twig beetle was also detected at a sawmill in Franklin County, Ind., in April. Black walnut trees that have wilting leaves or dying branches during the summer should be checked carefully for the disease.

More about TCD can be found online at www.thousandcankers.com