A fast-moving tree disease is forcing new restrictions across the Finger Lakes, according to the DEC. State environmental officials expanded the oak wilt quarantine after crews found more infected trees in Yates and Ontario counties.
The New York Department of Environmental Conservation merged two quarantine zones into one larger district. It now covers all of Middlesex, Italy, and South Bristol, plus parts of Bristol and Naples. Officials banned most movement of oak wood from the area to slow the spread.
The DEC traced the outbreak to aerial surveys last summer and confirmed seven infected sites with Cornell testing. Crews removed diseased trees and treated nearby oaks, and the state plans years of continued monitoring…