Parts of Belle Isle park in Detroit will be temporarily closed when crews use a helicopter as part of an effort combat oak wilt disease in trees.
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources and the Belle Isle Conservancy say the helicopter will transport logs out of a sensitive habitat area at the island park in the Detroit River. The work is expected to take place over two days in the week that starts Sunday.
It's part of an effort to protect a forest at the park. A survey says oak wilt may have killed as many as 112 trees.
Oak wilt is a fungus that can spread between trees through underground root connections, or grafts. Spores also can be spread by beetles attracted to the fungus' smell.
