By Bill Greaves, North Maine Woods
History tends to repeat itself, and the infestation of the Spruce Budworm is no exception. Those of us who have spent the last 50 years working and playing in the North Maine Woods remember the old budworm days of the 70’s & 80’s. It destroyed more than 7 million acres of spruce and fir, and the forest products industry lost tens of millions of dollars. Today, the budworm is back in town!
Spruce Budworm is one of the most damaging forest pests in North America. Larvae feed on the buds and needles of host trees, which, left untreated, will kill the trees. The mortality rate can be 30-66% of spruce trees and 84-97% of fir trees. As the infestation has spread in Canada, New Brunswick has taken an approach called the Early Intervention Strategy (EIS). This approach relies on intensive monitoring to detect rising spruce budworm populations early, enabling timely intervention as the budworm begins to emerge in the springtime. With early, targeted treatment in these areas, populations have decreased by 60-80%. Maine will take a similar approach, as it has shown to be the most effective in managing budworm populations and preventing large-scale tree mortality.
Beginning in May 2025, landowners will treat approximately 250,000 acres with a targeted treatment program aimed at specific high-infestation areas. Much of this acreage will be in the North Maine Woods. This is a $15 million project for 2025 alone but will counter a potential $794 million loss to the largest natural resource industry in Maine. Without early intervention, Maine could suffer a loss of 3,865 jobs, or about 12% of the industry.
If you are reading this article, chances are good that you either make a living in the woods or have a passion for recreating there. You may take part in hunting, fishing, viewing wildlife, or just plain enjoy being outside. None of this would be taking place, if it were not for landowners supporting public access to their land. Please join me in showing some gratitude by supporting these landowners in their effort to combat this destructive insect before budworm populations can reach an unmanageable level.
Having said that, the intent of this article is to provide preliminary information to help you plan for this summer’s activities. The window for the EIS treatments in the North Maine Woods is during the last two weeks of May and the first two weeks of June. The exact timing is weather dependent, and of course dependent on the emergence of the Spruce Budworm. The potential coverage area in the North Maine Woods is from Daaquam to Escourt, and from the Quebec border to the St. John River. During the treatment period, public access will be restricted. Signs will be in place and there will be people monitoring all activity. Please heed the signs and stay clear of the restricted area during this short time frame.
This is a small sacrifice to support our public and private landowners, and the people they employ. Again, early intervention is the key to reducing the budworm population before it becomes much more costly and difficult to contain. We appreciate your cooperation. There will be more detailed information available as the treatment window gets closer.
For more information about the Spruce Budworm project, please visit:
https://maineforest.org/spruce-budworm/
https://www.maine.gov/dacf/mfs/forest_health/insects/spruce_budworm_2014.htm
The author is the Executive Director of North Maine Woods Inc. He has lived and worked here his entire life, retiring after 33 years as a Maine Forest Ranger. Additionally, he worked for the Aroostook County Sheriff’s Department and the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians.