Woods Wise Wire - January 29, 2015

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Woodswise Wire

Invasive Forest Insect Outreach Volunteer Training

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 


An Emerald Ash Borer Triple Play

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