Field tests of six wood species reputed to be naturally durable were installed in ground and out-of-ground contact in the autumn of 2004 and spring 2005 at four test sites in North America. Decay results for the ground contact tests are reported after one and two years of exposure. Although it is too early to draw conclusions regarding relative performance of the different species, as expected samples containing sapwood are deteriorating faster than those containing all heartwood. There is no obvious difference at this point between decay in old-growth and second-growth samples.