The east coast (Virginia) has seen rapid oak decline over the last 5 years as well. Oozing cankers are seen in the spring and a rapid browning of leaves occurs by late summer in droughty and hot summers. Suburban landscaping is likely exacerbating the issue.

Super cool article. Love to hear about the new technology. Hate to hear Pueblo has such bad air quality. I have MTN biked down there a few times and noticed it's pretty dry and dusty. I can imagine fine particulate matter from factories stays afloat in the air for a while.