How might US Forest Service pathologist Martin McKenzie be described? This California-based researcher is recognized as and acknowledges titles like professional observer.

“Anybody else standing here would probably look at this stand and see the beautiful ponderosa and the wonderful incense cedar, but I see a dead spire in the distance.”

Tree Doctor specializing in…

“The study of diseases that either kill trees or produce warts or galls or cankers.”

And perhaps most descriptive…

“I’m a stump Buster because the fungus grows inside the cave of the stump. So you’ve got to break open the stump to find the fungus inside.”

All these names summarize Mackenzie’s talents and training over a 55-year career to identify dead and dying trees in a five-forest region in the Golden State and recognize various threats to trees, such as plant disease and fungus.

“The two major diseases are roots biognosis and blister rust.”

Or in the case of a sugar pine tree in the Stanislaw National Forest…

“The spores landed on the needle, grew down the needle grew into the branch, grew into the main stem and girdled the main stem, no water will get past the girdle, and everything above that will die. All the cones that were produced at the tips of the branches will die too, so there will be no seeds produced. It will eventually sterilize this tree, threatening the future of sugar pines.”

He is also observant when it comes to identifying various invasive pests. Peeling away a dying stump, he notices bark beetles, which are both beneficial in eating away dying or decaying trees and threatening in consuming wood on healthy trees, causing significant damage.

“This is mass attack. That’s 200, 400, 600, 800, 1000, 1200 eggs in under eight inches. That’s an incredibly large number of eggs that hatch and grow out as little ones.”

The significance when identifying tree disease and insect threats is also noting where potential wildfire threats could occur.

“When these trees die and fall on the ground, they become 1000-hour fuels, and they’ll burn for 1000 hours when they catch fire. But once you’ve got dense vegetation in taller trees and low vegetation underneath it can crown fire, and that’s what’s the most dangerous. That’s when we lose the greatest number of trees.”

And how did Mackenzie develop his powers of observation? Practice, taking what area of forest at a time and spending time seeing and creating his mental picture of what a normal forest looks like versus what that has signs of unhealthy trees and vegetation.