Articles of Interest

Dowsers Find Answers to California Oak Tree Blight
Written by Kerry Louise Gillett

On the beautiful sunny Sunday of October 21, 2000, four of us dowsers took off on foot from the China Camp Village parking lot, part of a large area of public parklands situated on the northwest side of the San Francisco Bay. We began the day delighted with the weather. But by the end of our trek, we would be praying for rain.

We had gathered together because California’s oak trees were in crisis. According to the California Oak Foundation, two species of oaks – the tanoaks and coast live oaks – were dying by the tens of thousands in an area that spanned from Mendocino County all the way to Santa Barbara, cutting a swath of destruction all along the California coast.

The four of us lived in Marin County, which was so hard-hit that the county had declared a state of emergency. Some experts blamed fungus and tree-boring beetles for this catastrophe. It had been published that these foes would only attack trees which were sick and dying in the first place and that catastrophic environmental factors must be weakening the trees and, thus, inviting in the pestilence, beginning what had come to be called the Sudden Oak Death Syndrome. Other experts were alarmed by the prospect that the fungus, the beetles, or both might be taking down otherwise healthy trees. Some felt that the fungus began the process and that its odor attracted the beetles who bored into the trees’ flesh with such vigor that, once the attack began, it was only a matter of weeks before the tree was dead. Another theory was that the epidemic was spread by the swarming beetles which picked up the death-dealing fungus and carried it to its next victims.

One purpose of our dowsing mission was to find out what actually was causing this botanical plague. But, most of all, we wanted to know if there was anything we could do -- or should do -- to help our trees.

The bay waters and white-sand beaches glistened in the sunlight behind us as we wended our way along the parkland’s dirt path, which guided us through beach grasses, dried by the sun to a golden yellow. Our final destination was just ahead of us, the rolling hills that were the home of thousands of picturesque oaks.

Our first close-up encounter with an oak was our discovery of a dead tree that had been felled and cut into large pieces by county workers and left to naturally decompose. We inspected the remains and found tarry black splotches that marked the trunk like massive melanomas, a sure sign that this tree had been the victim of the dreaded fungus.

The unpleasant vision of that scarred cadaver remained with us as we continued up the meandering path. The air cooled and the musty woodland scent grew stronger as the forest canopy thickened. We noted the various types of trees that lived here and studied the illustrated library books that helped us cull out the tanoaks and coastal live oaks from the many other oak species. While comparing leaf shapes and acorn lengths, we came upon a majestic tree, alone in a small, sunlit clearing, overlooking the bay below. If we had been searching for the perfect wild-west burial plot in which to lay our kin to rest, this would have been the place.

We all agreed, confirmed by our dowsing instruments, that this was, indeed, a healthy coast live oak; and we decided that this is where we would begin our search for answers. We sat down on the dry earth facing our chosen tree. One of us used a pendulum. One used two L rods, and two used one L rod each.

We opened our session with a prayer, asking that our personal devas, spirit guides, and guardian angels be with us to help us communicate with the energies and entities. We prayed that we might be guided by love and compassion, and asked that any barriers to or diversions from the truth that might be caused by personal egos or bias be bypassed so that we may receive the purest and highest truth about the situation from the purest and highest sources.

Then came the necessary questions of permission: May we ask questions about the Oak Tree Blight? Can we? Should we? Three of us got go-aheads, and our fourth member, quite new at dowsing, was unable to get a response of any kind. A most remarkable feature of our gathering was that, among the three of us who had acquired some skill with dowsing instruments, we got unanimous answers to all of our questions, up until near the end of our session, where we realized we were reasking questions, which takes us to one important thing the new dowsers learned that day and the more veteran dowsers were reminded of: Trust the first answer you get. If you repeat the same question, the answer you get will be unreliable.

Vanessa had brought a list of questions that was compiled by an arborist friend who had daily work experience with the effects of this natural disaster. We all worked with our dowsing tools as that list of questions was read and as other questions came to mind and were asked by other members of the group.

Q Is this massive death of oak trees the result of environmental stress caused by manmade contamination?
A No.

Q Is the infestation caused directly by acts of mankind?
A No.

Q Is it caused by effects of the environment that are occurring naturally, rather than from the influence of human beings?
A Yes.

Q Will this disease process be spread to other tree species, such as other species of oaks, bay trees, eucalyptus, etc.?
A No

Q Is the fungus being spread by the beetles carrying it from one tree to the other?
A No.

Q Are the beetles the primary cause of death of the oak trees?
A No.

Q Are they a secondary cause of death?
A Yes.

Q Do the beetles attack the tree after the fungus settles in?
A Yes.

Q The blight is evident from Humboldt County to Monterrey County. Will it spread any farther geographically?
A No.

Q So is it going to cycle out in this area and go no farther?
A Yes.

At this point, I asked the group if it was okay for me to make an attempt at direct contact with the deva of our tree or other helpful entities, which the other members of our group agreed with. On asking for contact with the deva most knowledgeable about the Sudden Oak Death Syndrome, I was honored and surprised when I found out who I got: “I am the deva of the ocean, the bay, and all the waters.”

I felt as though I had gotten the wrong channel. “We’re trying to get in touch with the deva of this tree or some other entity who knows about the Sudden Oak Death Syndrome.”

The answer: “Okay.”

I did not ask further to whom we were speaking. The answers that began to flow through me were startling. And it went something like this:

“The condition that is causing the widespread demise of the oak trees is there is too much salt on the wind, in the air. The drought, then, has made the soil too salty. There is not enough rain to wash away the salt, and so the trees are dying from too much salt.”
“Has this condition affected this tree here with us?”
“Yes. It has been affected by the losses it has suffered due to this great tragedy. This tree is grieving over the loss of several of its family members. But it is still healthy.”
“Are the causes of the oak disease begun by the acts of human beings?”
“No.”
And then Suzie heard four words, as clearly as though a being were standing behind her shoulder and whispering in her ear: “Salt, too much salt.”
Tim asked, “Is this problem caused in a secondary way by human beings, such as there not being enough fresh water to dilute the salty bay waters because of the overuse and diversion of water that normally would go down the Sacramento and other rivers?”
And the deva answered through me, “Perhaps 10% of the conditions relate to human beings, but that 10% is not enough to be the cause of the problem. The lessened volume of water flowing from the Sacramento River into the San Francisco Bay adds to the problem of a higher concentration of salt in the bay. But the main factor is there’s just not been enough rain over a long period of time; so there is too much salt for the trees to handle.”
And than I asked: “Is there anything we can do to help cure the problem?”
“No. Please don’t worry about us. Live in love, bliss, happiness, and joy. Remember that life goes in (sic) forever. We’ll take care of it. We’re working on a solution right now.”
“If we pray, would that help?”
“Of course. Prayer always helps.”

The entity which was sharing with us through Suzie added: “Remember the sadness.”

After our contact with the entities ended, Tim brought up the possibility that salt water from the bay and the ocean could also be coming up from underneath, as well as the salt that comes in on the fog and with the wind and lies on top of the ground. He stated that sometimes, when water tables are too low and there is no water pressure from above, waters from below sometimes will gurgle up. This theory rang true, though we did not ask for specific Deva confirmation.

Regarding the salt, it is well to note that all of the counties affected by this blight are coastal counties, and that Marin County, the hardest hit of them all, has the ocean on one side of it and the salt-water bay on the other. And it is my understanding that the San Francisco Bay used to be a playground for sea otters, but it has become so salty that it is not longer an otter habitat.

One of our number was puzzled over the use of the term “drought” by the deva, thinking that we were not living in drought conditions. We have had the rare drought in the last few years where the population was required to cut down on water use. Even though for several years we had not suffered from that kind of extreme lack of water to our individual homes, I shared my memory of when I first moved to this area 13 years ago. We had what I called “Polite Rain.” The skies would hold until I got home from work in the evening, and then it would rain steady all night long, and then would stop to let me get on my morning bus. This would go on for several nights running, drying up during the high part of the day. And then we’d have a few lovely days of crisp air and blue skies. And then the evening rains would start up again. It seems from what I have read that this wet-dry/wet-dry pattern is perfect for healthy oak trees, which do not do well if they are waterlogged but, as the deva told us, seem to need a certain amount of flushing.

After that first year, I don’t remember having any more rains like that. Natives of the area have told me that that moisture pattern used to be common. And since that time, although I remember some rainstorms, and even some real blustery ones, mostly I remember how little rain we’ve had overall for more than ten years. It seems that that long-term lack has taken its toll on our most susceptible trees.

And, now, I am delighted to report that four days after our outing, four days after the deva promised us that they were working on a solution, those heaven-sent Polite Rains started again and kept up their welcome work for several days. Today was a lovely, clear day, as was yesterday; and it is expected to rain again in a day or so.

I cringe now when I hear someone complaining about the rain and wishing it would stop. “Don’t,” I want to tell them. “Let it rain. Your thoughts might be more powerful than you think, and you cannot imagine the devastation that your wishes could create.” I have always been extraordinarily fond of those courteous showers and welcome the sound and smell and feel of them. Without them, my lush, green county by the Bay will turn to desert.

We closed our hillside meeting with a prayer that sent strengthening, loving, health-giving energy to our newfound tree friend. We took photographs of us with our adopted tree who had lost so many of its family members in these last few catastrophic years. Perhaps we won’t be saving all the oak trees, but we will be sending our prayers of love and joy to help this one tree survive until all of nature’s magical powers come into force and bring balance back to our oak-filled homeland.

Glory to the Creator. Joy to the Earth. Happiness abounds. And with special thanks to the Deva of the Ocean, the Bay, and All the Waters.

Sincerely, and with the deepest gratitude,

Suzie Garrett
Kerry Gillett (author)
Tim Gillett
Vanessa Triscell

FOLLOWUP:
On March 27, 2001, five months after our Oak Tree project, the Public Interest Newswire informed its readers that researchers at the Tree Ring Laboratory of the University of Arkansas and scientists from Scripps Institute of Oceanography in California have studied the growth rings of ancient, old-growth blue oaks in California. What they found in the core of these oaks was a brilliant support for our group’s findings: San Francisco Bay salinity levels in recent years are the highest they’ve been in 400 years.