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Forest Health Southern Interior Region. Kootenays Kamloops Cariboo. Lorraine MacLauchlan Forest Entomologist - Kamloops Leo Rankin Forest Entomologist – Williams Lake Hadrian Merler Forest Pathologist - Vernon. 4,250,000 ha in SIR 59% of provincial infestation
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Forest HealthSouthern Interior Region Kootenays Kamloops Cariboo Lorraine MacLauchlan Forest Entomologist - Kamloops Leo Rankin Forest Entomologist – Williams Lake Hadrian Merler Forest Pathologist - Vernon
4,250,000 ha in SIR 59% of provincial infestation 1.6 fold increase from 2003 90% in former Cariboo Region Area infested in Parks doubled Expanding into southern half of SIR Mountain Pine Beetle
Area of mountain pine beetle in the SIR 2001-2004
Overwinter mortality estimates for the southern interior - March 2004 exponential exponential exponential
Douglas-fir Beetle • 30,700 ha infested • Area expanded 3.75 fold from 2002 • Greatest increase in Cariboo • Significant infestations in most FD’s
Spruce Beetle • Infested area doubled from 2003 • 76,800 ha attacked • Major increases in DQU & DCC • 90% of infestation in eastern Cariboo • Scattered windthrow initiated infestation
Defoliators Western Hemlock Looper
Western Spruce Budworm • 615,000 ha in SIR • Majority in DCC, DMH, DCK and DCO • 93,000 ha moderate or severe defoliation • Widespread defoliation projected for 2005
Western Spruce BudwormSpray Program • 25,500 ha of Douglas-fir stands treated in SIR in 2004 • Sprayed mainly in DCC and DMH • Applied B.t.k. at a rate of 2.4 L/ha • Cost of $22.50/ha • Decreased pop’n levels in all treated blocks
Western Spruce BudwormSpray Program • Plan to spray 45,000 ha in 2005 • Only select high value stands projected for severe defoliation for treatment • 35,000 ha in Cariboo • 10,000 ha in Kamloops
Western Hemlock Looper • Outbreak largely subsided • Only 5,500 ha in SIR • Bulk of activity in Columbia FD – 3,400 ha • Pop’ns in Kamloops IDf collapsed
Western Hemlock Looper • Trap catches down significantly except around Shuswap River & Greenbush Lakes • Egg sampling in Columbia FD indicates light defoliation possible at only two sites. • Areas treated with B.t.k. in 2003 had nil to trace defoliation
Douglas-fir Tussock Moth • No defoliation detected from the air in 2004 • Active in Scottie Creek in Kamloops FD • Trap catches in Kamloops, Cascades, Okanagan Shuswap and 100 Mile FD’s down
Our future forests . . . . New findings and an entomological interpretation. A gloomy entomologist!
Young pine (28 years) under attack. Long galleries with healthy (large) larvae)
Pine Beetle in Young Stands • Surveyed plantations between 25 & 35 years of age • 46 plantations surveyed in DQU • 74% of stands had pine beetle attack
Pine Beetle in Young Stands • High of 64% attack, low of 1% attack • Attack levels increased with stand age and average stand diameter • Spaced stands had lower attack (%) • High green to red ratio - most attack new
Drought Drought-induced mortality in plantation
Drought • Drought mortality mapped in over 11,300 ha in 2004 • Mostly Kamloops & Okanagan Shuswap FD’s • Low elevation dry Douglas-fir & Ponderosa Pine stands • Difficult to map during aerial survey • Small sub-dominant understory trees • Estimate 250,000 - 750,000 ha with significant mortality in 2003-2004 • Build-up of Douglas-fir beetle & western pine beetle expected in some areas
Western Pine Beetle • Local problem in towns, around subdivisions • Population build-up because of fire and drought • Removing 2500 – 3000 trees in Kalowna
Projections and future direction • While still targeting “leading edge” and maximizing extraction of green attack, many areas should shift to value extraction (reds, green attack, greys). • In over-run TSA’s plan a strategic harvest of infested stands while spatially producing mosaic of blocks/openings; wide spacing • Put full efforts into the southern portion of the Region where “all-is-not-lost” (yet).
Projections and future direction • Plantations are being attacked by MPB in the core area of the outbreak as well as other areas in the SIR (Quesnel, Okanagan Shuswap) • Target reducing “risk” surrounding >25 yr old plantations • As drought-like conditions continue, more stands (young and old) will be susceptible to secondary insect/pathogen mortality • drought is exacerbating the MPB situation and will continue to do so