BANGOR DAILY NEWS • July 26, 2022
A lethal tree disease that plagues American elms is surging in Maine this year and has taken root in more than two dozen trees in Castine, one of the Northeast’s last remaining hubs for the towering giants. Though there is no official statewide count, a state forestry expert estimated that the amount of elms with Dutch elm disease in 2022 is at least three times higher than in years past, and sickened trees are deteriorating faster due to dry conditions going back to 2021.