Fall foliage adds color to event celebrating stand of rare trees at Bur Oak Canyon

Participants of the "2019 Bur Oak Canyon Tree Symposium" are among the first to witness the changing colors in the oak leaves of Bur Oak Canyon southwest of Culbertson.

Connie Jo Discoe/McCook Gazette

McCOOK, Neb. — Shades of yellow and red are just beginning to show up in the grand oaks of Bur Oak Canyon, the subject of a symposium for tree-lovers, foresters and arborists Thursday and Friday at McCook Community College and in the canyon accessible by dusty county roads southwest of Culbertson.

The stand of 300 to 400 oaks southwest of Culbertson is believed to be the only large stand of native bur oaks within a 200-mile radius.

Classroom sessions covered proper planting of trees, the hardiness and use of oaks in landscapes, the development and introgression (the transfer of genetic information between species) of oaks in Bur Oak Canyon, tree utilization from planting to harvest, native tree production on the northern high plains, fruit trees, tree diversity and the spread and impact of the emerald ash borer.

During classroom sessions at McCook Community College, symposium participants — here, Chris Mullins of Hutchinson, Kan. — dissected the tough, protective case of the bagworm caterpillar during a study of tree health issues.

Connie Jo Discoe/McCook Gazette

Commons Scents Nursery south of McCook hosted an evening barbecue, serving local craft beers and Nebraska wines.