Protecting Maine’s forests from spruce budworm takes all of us

By Allison Kanoti and Patty Cormier

If you’ve enjoyed Maine’s northern or western woods on a hike, or are a logger, a landowner, a forester, or just someone who finds peace in the woods, you know the scale and the value of our forests. That’s why our state is acting now to address a familiar but serious threat: the spruce budworm.

This tiny insect, which prefers to feed on balsam fir needles, may not look like much. But history tells us otherwise. During the last major outbreak in the 1970s and ’80s, Maine lost millions of cords of wood, which threatened jobs, wildlife habitat and entire forest-based communities.

Today, populations of spruce budworm are once again building, slowly but surely, on hundreds of thousands of acres in northern Maine. The good news is, we’re not starting from scratch, and we’re not waiting to intervene.

This spring, a coalition of forestry stakeholders, including landowners, scientists, industry partners, and state and federal government agencies, is taking a science-based approach to spruce budworm management through the Early Intervention Strategy. Approximately 240,000 acres of budding budworm populations will be treated with narrowly targeted insecticides in late May and early June. This effort, backed by $12 million in federal funds and another $2 million from the state, is about one thing: protecting Maine’s forest future.

But some smaller woodland owners have asked, “Why not my land?” It’s a fair question, and one we take seriously. The answer is in the details and the time needed for planning.

This year’s treatment blocks were selected months in advance and supported by research, monitoring, ownership and forest composition data. A project of this scale requires precise permitting and coordination for safe and effective execution. Insecticide also must be ordered months in advance. As much as we wanted to include more landowners this year, the logistics were just not feasible. 

That said, the Maine Budworm Response Coalition, which is composed of landowners, and managers along with the Maine Spruce Budworm Task Force, Maine Woodland Owners and other allies are working together to develop and roll out a program specifically designed for small landowners to participate in future treatment efforts for building populations of spruce budworm. 

The Maine Forest Service will be reaching out to landowners in the areas of high infestation to start gathering key information and work with the landowners to discuss options available to them. We want to make sure that landowners are informed and ready when the next opportunity for spruce budworm treatment opens.

We also invite landowners to take advantage of the vast number of resources on sprucebudwormmaine.org. Additionally, public information sessions will be announced, and the website is the best place to become and stay informed. 

Protecting Maine’s forest requires all of us: big and small landowners, government and industry, neighbors, and naturalists. That’s the spirit behind our work historically, today, and tomorrow.

We can keep our forests strong together.

Kanoti is the Maine state entomologist. Cormier is the Maine state forester.