Woodswise Wire
The Maine Department of
Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry’s (DACF) Forest Pest Outreach Project
and its partners are offering two free workshops to train people to recognize,
report and spread awareness about the Asian longhorned beetle (ALB), emerald
ash borer (EAB), and hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA) and other invasive tree
pests. These invasive insects pose serious threats to the trees and forests of
Maine. ALB and EAB have not been found in Maine, but the EAB quarantine
in NH abuts Maine and the largest known infestation of ALB outside of its
native range was found in Worcester, MA in 2008. The best defense for our
trees and forests against these and other invasive insects is early detection
by people who work with trees, those who enjoy the outdoors, and those involved
in community education.
Participants will learn how to recognize and
report key invasive pests such as the Asian longhorned beetle, emerald ash
borer and hemlock woolly adelgid. They will be trained to effectively
transfer information to the public to help spread awareness of these pests.
Karen Coluzzi and Lorraine Taft with the Forest
Pest Outreach Project (DACF, Animal and Plant Health), and Allison Kanoti with
the Maine Forest Service (DACF), will present these trainings. Training topics
will include the potential impact of ALB, EAB and HWA in the state of Maine,
current management activities, pest and infestation identification, pest life
cycles, infestation reporting, host tree identification and community response
planning. Three credit hours are available for licensed foresters and pesticide
applicators attending this training. Pre-registration is encouraged.
Light refreshments provided.
Trainings
Greenville, ME
Date: Wednesday, February 11th, 2015 (Snow Date
February 12th)
Time: 10:00 am to 2:30 pm
Location: Greenville Town Office, 7 Minden Street,
Greenville, ME
Co-Sponsors: Piscataquis County Soil & Water Conservation
District and Maine DACF
Registration Details: Free, Pre-registration requested:
Piscataquis County Soil and Water Conservation District 207-564-2321 ext. 3 or info@piscataquisswcd.org.
Continuing Education:
3 Credits
Board of Pesticide, SAF (cat. 1 CFE), Maine Licensed Forester
Waldoboro, ME
Date: Wednesday, March 18th, 2015
Time: 9:00 am to 1:00 pm
Location: Knox-Lincoln Cooperative Extension, 377 Manktown Road,
Waldoboro, ME
Co-Sponsors: Knox-Lincoln Soil & Water Conservation District,U Maine
Cooperative Extension Knox-Lincoln Counties and Maine DACF
Registration Details: Free, Pre-registration requested: Hildy Ellis at
207-596-2040 or hildy@knox-lincoln.org
Continuing Education:
3 Credits
Board of Pesticide, SAF (cat. 1 CFE), Maine Licensed Forester
One: Emerald Ash Borer Trap
Tree Log Peeling Workshops
Trap tree volunteers will gather with Maine Forest Service
staff and cooperators to process the logs resulting from emerald ash borer (EAB)
trap trees prepared in last spring.
“Processing” involves stripping away the bark and cambium from the
length of harvested bolts to search for signs of EAB infestation. Trap trees are an important tool in emerald
ash borer detection and management. In
the detection arena, they provide one of the more sensitive tools we have and
they are available to anybody who owns ash and wants to make sure monitoring
for this devastating pest happens in their back yard. They aren’t the answer for everyone, though.
This method is destructive—it requires girdling the trap tree in the spring,
then felling and bucking and peeling in the winter.
Workshops have been set up in two locations (both heated
garages):
February 4, 2015:
Acadia National Park Headquarters
20 McFarland
Hill Drive (Rte. 233), Bar Harbor
8:30 until mid-afternoon
February 10, 2015:
Maine Forest Service Southern Region Headquarters,
2870 North Belfast Ave (Rte. 3), Bolton
Hill (Augusta)
(Directions: http://www.maine.gov/dacf/mfs/forest_protection/office_directions.html)
8:30 until
mid-afternoon
For More Information: Colleen.teerling@maine.gov or
(207) 287-3096
Two: Woodpeckers and Ash
Significant snowfall across the state means more of you and
your friends will be out and about enjoying what Maine’s winter woods have to
offer. If those offerings include EAB,
some of the first Maine residents to exploit this novel protein source will be
our native woodpeckers. Woodpecker feeding
activity in infested ash can highlight the infested trees in the forest. The bright inner bark nearly glows when
woodpeckers fleck off the outer, weathered bark of ash in search of fat, juicy
beetle pre-pupae. Keep your eyes peeled
for bright ash trees as you get out on sleds, skis, snowshoes—even as you
travel the roads. A high level of
woodpecker activity can point to trees in trouble, and sometimes that trouble
is EAB.
Three: Purple Trap Survey
2015 marks the third
year that the purple prism trap locations will be driven by a USFS
risk-model. This year more than 900
traps will be deployed. Locations for these traps are predetermined by the
federal model, so we generally cannot provide traps upon request. Sites for the traps are on a mix of ownership—with
the majority falling on private land. If
you receive a request to hang a trap on your property, please consider
participating. The traps will not draw EAB to your property; they only pull
from the very immediate area. You can
learn more at: www.maineforestservice.gov/purpletraps.htm.
If you suspect you have seen emerald ash borer or its
damage in Maine, please report it: www.maine.gov/eab,
forestinfo@maine.gov or (207) 287-2431
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