LINCOLN — One of Nebraska’s oldest trees has died, and officials are blaming drought conditions.

The “Old Wolf Oak,” a burr oak with a 9.8-foot circumference located along a hiking trail at Ponca State Park, was estimated to be more than 380 years old.

The tree was a popular stop for park visitors, given that it was 223 years old when Nebraska became a state in 1867 and was a silent witness to the Lewis & Clark Expedition of 1804-06.

But Nebraska Game and Parks Commission officials say drought conditions in eastern Nebraska have created large areas of dead or declining mature trees, including the stately oak.

The past two years have seen extreme drought across Nebraska, officials said. While native species like the bur oak are drought-tolerant, prolonged drought causes dieback in the canopy and root systems, weakening tree defenses.

This creates an opening for pests and pathogens, officials said, and makes a tree more vulnerable to infection.

Game and Parks staff had been monitoring and, where possible, treating bur oaks for bur oak blight, which can weaken a tree. Officials also identified a new threat to trees, hypoxylon canker, a fungus that invades the vascular systems of drought-stricken trees and dooms a tree.

The old oak will soon be cut down under a response plan developed after consulting with experts, Game and Parks announced. Infected material must be destroyed on-site, officials said, to avoid stressing the surrounding healthy trees.

A sign at the Wolf Oak, erected in 1964, states that it “began its life in 1644.” But more modern dating techniques later added another half century to its age.

Ironically, it was not a state champion tree in its category. A registry kept by the Nebraska Forest Service lists a burr oak with a circumference of 18.7 feet near Peru as the state champion.

This story was published by Nebraska Examiner, an editorially independent newsroom providing a hard-hitting, daily flow of news. Read the original article: https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2025/05/31/one-of-states-oldest-trees-touri...