Conservation Effort Transplants Rare Lichen from Dying Ash Trees to New Hosts

A conservation project successfully transplanted Lea's bog lichen (Phaeophyscia leana), a rare species once thought extinct, from dying ash trees to new host trees in Ohio floodplains. Ecological manager Mark Zloba of the Richard & Lucile Durrell Edge of Appalachia Preserve System led the effort, advised by lichen conservationists James Lendemer and Jessica Allen. From 2016, 53 lichen chunks were removed from ash trees threatened by Emerald ash borer beetles and attached with silicone to 16 other suitable trees. After ten years of monitoring, 17% of transplants survived and grew onto new substrates, demonstrating a viable conservation method for this unique lichen that thrives in flood-prone habitats along the Ohio River.