AUGUSTA, Maine — Maine foresters are preparing for next spring's expected infestation of spruce budworm, an insect that feeds on spruce and fir that has been known to overun forest stands.
Maine's last periodic outbreak occurred in 1970 and ended in 1985. Maine Forest Service Director Doug Denico says efforts are underway to protect the trees on the state's public lands.
"We're going to make sure that our spruce-fir areas are well roaded ahead of time before the budworm gets here and we're going to target areas and we know where those areas are, they've already been assigned by map as high risk," Denico said. "They're areas with over 50 percent fir and white spruce. We're going to cut into those first and make a concentrated effort."
Denico told members of the Commission to Study the Public Reserved Lands Management Fund that the pros and cons of a targeted aerial spray program will also be shared with the panel.
According to the Maine Forest Products Council, the budworm outbreak in the 1970s killed more than 20 percent of the state's fir trees.