2012 Woodland Owners Conference

The 2012 Woodland Owners Conference is now accepting registrations. The conference will be held Saturday, March 3 in the Bush Student Center on the campus of the Pennsylvania College of Technology in Williamsport, PA. The conference begins at 9:00 a.m. and runs until 3:30 p.m. This year’s conference offers a number of topics that woodland owners can use on their properties.


Agenda

9:00 Welcome

9:15 “Small Woodlot Forestry”, Dr. Jim Finley, Director, Center for Private Forests, Penn State School of Forest Resources

10:15 “Mitigating Stream Damage – Steps to Stay Out of Trouble”, Randy Reibson, Sullivan County Conservation District

11:15 “Working With Neighboring Woodlot Owners to Accomplish Objectives”, Allyson Muth, Penn State School of Forest Resources

Noon Lunch

1:00 Awards, Woodland Owner Associations Updates

1:45 “Wildlife Habitat Improvement – Creating Cover”, Dr. Ben Jones, Pennsylvania Game Commission

2:30 “2012 Forest Health Update”, Tim Marasco, Forest Pest Management Section, Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry

3:15 “Evaluations – Dismiss”

The cost of the conference is $30 per person or $50 per couple from the same property. For more information on the conference and to register you can go online at http://www.cvent.com/d/tcq9fg or call toll free 877-489-1398. Additional information may be obtained by calling Dr. Bob Hansen at 570-265-2896.

Keep Asian Longhorned Beetle from Entering Pennsylvania

Agriculture Secretary George Greig today asked the public to help keep the Asian Longhorned Beetle from entering the state, saying the non-native, invasive wood-boring pest could severely harm Pennsylvania’s $25 billion hardwoods industry.

“The Asian Longhorned Beetle has not yet been found in Pennsylvania, but if it is allowed to enter it could pose a significant threat to the state’s timber, maple syrup and tourism industries,” said Greig during an event at Ag Progress Days marking August as Asian Longhorned Beetle Awareness Month.
“I encourage Pennsylvanians to learn to recognize this pest to help protect our valuable wood resources that are a vital part of our economy,” Greig added.
Greig added that since many species of wood-boring insects, including the Asian Longhorned Beetle and Emerald Ash Borer, can be spread through transport of infested firewood and logs, campers and homeowners should use only locally harvested firewood, burn all of it on-site and not carry it to new locations.
The adult Asian Longhorned Beetle is three-quarters to one-and-a-quarter inch long, has a jet-black glossy body with 20 white or yellow spots on each wing, and long blue or black and white antennae.
Beetle larvae tunnel through tree stems causing girdling that cuts off the flow of nutrients, eventually killing the tree. Adult beetles leave round exit holes in the tree, resulting in coarse sawdust at the base of infested parts of the tree. There is no known practical control for this wood-boring pest other than destroying infested trees.
The beetles attack and eventually kill many species of trees, but prefer maple species. Soft (red maple) and hard (sugar maple) trees make up more than 25 percent of Pennsylvania’s hardwood forests. The beetle also attacks species of ash, birch, buckeye, elm, horsechestnut, poplar and willow trees. As much as $10 billion in lumber and pulp production and $3 million in maple syrup sales are at risk.
Native to China, Mongolia and Korea, the beetle was first discovered in North America in New York in 1996 and has since been found in Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Ohio, and mainly in urban settings. Pennsylvania’s proximity to New York, New Jersey and Ohio raise a concern due to frequent recreational travel by residents.
Should the beetle be found in Pennsylvania, the Department of Agriculture will partner with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service’s Plant Protection and Quarantine division and the U.S. Forest Service to implement a full-scale eradication program.
Such a program would entail surveys, imposing quarantines to prevent accidental transport of the beetle, removal and destruction of infested host trees and high risk trees, as well as outreach and replanting efforts.
To report a suspected sighting of Asian Longhorned Beetle, call the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture’s toll-free pest hotline at 1-866-253-7189 or e-mail badbug@state.pa.us.
For more information about Asian Longhorned Beetle, including photos, visit http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/forestry/fpm_invasives_ALB.aspx.

Agriculture Department Announces Detection of Thousand Cankers Disease in Pennsylvania Trees, Enacts Quarantine to Prevent Spread

Aug. 12, 2011

Harrisburg – Thousand Cankers Disease has been detected for the first time in Pennsylvania, and a quarantine restricting the movement of wood from Bucks County and other states known to have the disease is effective immediately.

The disease is caused when Walnut Twig Beetles, which carry a fungus, tunnel beneath the bark of walnut trees, causing small cankers to form. As more beetles attack the tree, the number of cankers increases, slowly starving the tree of nutrients and causing the tree to die within 10 years of initial infestation. There is no known cure.
The disease was found on a black walnut tree in Plumstead Township, Bucks County, and reported by the property owner to Penn State Cooperative Extension. The sample was verified by the state and federal Departments of Agriculture.
“Thousand Cankers Disease poses a significant threat to Pennsylvania’s $25 billion hardwoods industry,” said Agriculture Secretary George Greig. “To help ensure this disease does not spread to other regions throughout the state, I urge Pennsylvanians to comply with the quarantine restricting the movement of wood from Bucks County.”
The quarantine restricts the movement of all walnut material including nursery stock, budwood, scionwood, green lumber and firewood. It also covers other walnut material -- living, dead, cut or fallen -- including stumps, roots, branches, mulch and composted and uncomposted chips. Due to the difficulty in distinguishing between species of hardwood firewood, all hardwood firewood is considered quarantined.
The quarantine also restricts the movement of walnut material and hardwood firewood from states known to have Thousand Cankers Disease, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia and Washington.
Nuts, processed lumber and finished wood products without bark are exempt from the quarantine.
Failure to follow the quarantine order could result in criminal penalties of up to 90 days imprisonment and a fine of up to $300 per violation, or a civil penalty of up to $20,000 per violation.
Since many species of wood-boring insects, including the Walnut Twig Beetle and Emerald Ash Borer, can be spread through transport of infested firewood and logs, campers and homeowners are encouraged to use only locally harvested firewood, burn all of it on-site and not carry it to new locations.
Thousand Cankers Disease was first diagnosed in walnut trees in Colorado in 2003, and has caused widespread death of black walnut trees in many western states. Other species such as Arizona walnut, English walnut and California walnut have shown varying degrees of susceptibility to the fungus.
Adult walnut twig beetles, native to the southwestern United States and Mexico, carry spores of the Geosmithia fungus, which is introduced to the tree as they bore under the bark. The beetles are extremely difficult to detect as they are dark brown and similar in size to a poppy seed.
Early symptoms of the disease are yellowing of leaves and foliage-thinning of the upper crown of the tree. As the disease progresses, larger limbs are killed followed by the trunk.
The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture will work with other state and federal agencies and Penn State to survey for walnut twig beetles to slow the spread of Thousand Canker Disease.
Black walnut trees, which make up less than half of one percent of hardwood trees in Pennsylvania, produce high-valued lumber used in woodworking and furniture-making. The nuts of the trees are consumed by humans and wildlife.
People who suspect they have seen Thousand Cankers Disease or walnut twig beetles should contact their local county cooperative extension office or call the department’s automated toll-free pest hotline at 1-866-253-7189.
For more information about Thousand Cankers Disease, visit www.agriculture.state.pa.us.

Emerald Ash Borer In Sullivan County

The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture has discovered emerald ash borer in Sullivan County, Pennsylvania. The confirmed location is along Rt. 87 east of Colley, PA in northeastern Sullivan County.  One adult was taken on a purple panel sticky trap on July 21. 
As the insect spreads our ash trees are in definite jeopardy. The insect attacks have been 100% fatal on all species of ash. Please don't move  firewood and encourage your friends and neighbors not to move fire wood. The insect will continue to spread but by not moving firewood we hope the spread can be slowed. If you think you have discovered emerald ash borer on your property or you area please contact your local Penn State Extension office, Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry office or regional office of the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture. For more information on this pest visit:

http://ento.psu.edu/extension/trees-shrubs/emerald-ash-borer

Asian Longhorned Beetle in Ohio

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and the Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA) announce that surveys are under way in Bethel, Ohio, after the detection and identification of the Asian longhorned beetle. Bethel is located 30 miles southeast of Cincinnati.

First discovered in the United States in 1996, Asian longhorned beetles attack several species of trees including maple, willow, horsechestnut, buckeye and American elm. While in its larvae stage, the Asian longhorned beetle (ALB) kills trees by tunneling into large branches and the trunk.
Ohio is the fourth state to detect ALB, which APHIS confirmed in Bethel after a citizen reported finding unusual damage in three maple trees to an Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Forestry service forester. Previous infestations sites, where the beetles are being successfully contained, include Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York.
APHIS and ODA inspection crews are surveying the southern portion of Bethel and the surrounding area to determine the extent of the ALB infestation. Crews will inspect host tree species susceptible to ALB for signs of the wood-boring beetle using ground surveyors and specially trained tree climbers.
APHIS and the ODA are working cooperatively with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Ohio State University Extension, the USDA Agricultural Research Service, the USDA Forest Service, and the town of Bethel to evaluate the scope of the infestation and to inform the public about the exotic, invasive pest.
Adult ALB are usually large, distinctive-looking insects measuring 1- to 1-1/2 inches long, not including antennae. Their white-banded antennae can be as long as the body itself in females and almost twice the body length in males.

Signs of infestation include perfectly round exit holes (about 3/8 to 1/2 inch in diameter) made by adult beetles when they emerge from trees; the pockmarks on tree trunks and branches where female beetles deposit eggs; frass (wood shavings and saw dust) produced by larvae feeding and tunneling; early fall coloration of leaves or dead branches, and running sap produced by the tree at the egg laying sites, or in response to larval tunneling.

If you believe you have seen this beetle or evidence of its damage in Pennsylvania please call your local Penn State Extension Office, Bureau of Forestry Office or Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture.



Pennsylvania 4-H Forestry Field Day Results

Beautiful sunny weather graced this year’s 4-H Forestry Field Day held at Laurel Haven Conservation Education Center in Julian, PA on May 7, 2011. The event consisted of two tracks. The junior (non-competitive) track taught younger 4-H members basic skills relating to forestry; while the senior track was a competitive event where “4-H foresters” from across the state demonstrated their knowledge and forestry skills.
The top five winners in the senior track included Nichele Olson, Sam Mc Gaughran, Jesse Isenberg, and Garrett Richardson from Indiana County, and Darton Harwick from Tioga County. Four of these youth will represent Pennsylvania at the 2011 National 4-H Forestry Invitational held in late July at Jackson’s Mill 4-H Conference Center, Weston, WV. Participants in both the state and national program demonstrate their skills in tree measurement, tree identification, forest health (insect and disease identification), compass use, topographic map reading, and applied forestry principles.
The junior track enjoyed learning tree id skills, compass techniques, and reading forest history signs. They also enjoyed a demonstration by the Penn State Woodman’s Team!
Extension Forestry Educator David Jackson of Centre County, and Sanford Smith, Extension Specialist, in Penn State’s School of Forest Resources, organized this year’s event. Also assisting were 4-H volunteers Chad Barclay and Ashlee Earley. Barclay and Earley are past state 4-H Forestry winners. They are also currently a forestry student at Penn State and a forester for the Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry respectively. This year’s Forestry Field Day received strong sponsorship from Pine Creek Lumber, Mill Hall, PA (a division of Bingaman Lumber), Pennsylvania Sustainable Forestry Initiative, and Domtar (Paper Mill), Johnsonburg, PA
For more information, contact Smith at sss5@psu.edu or Jackson at drj11@psu.edu.

- Submitted by Dr. Sanford Smith, Extension Specialist, Natural Resources and Youth Education (sss5@psu.edu)

Wildfires: Not in My Backyard!

Many people are unaware of the potential wildfire risk that exists in their local community. In the coming years invasive insects and disease are expected to attack and kill oak, hemlock, and ash trees, which can lead to increased wildfire risk as dead trees and branches build up in wooded areas. The expansion of communities into natural areas adds to the risk of fires spreading from homes to neighboring forested areas or forest fires endangering people and their homes (which is when they most often make headlines). News reports of intense Western wildfires only add to the confusion and misperceptions about Eastern wildfires.


A new publication in the popular From the Woods youth series, Wildfire, seeks to educate people about wildfires and controlled burns in the Eastern United States. The four-page booklet discusses the differences between Eastern and Western wildfires; including the time of year they are mostly likely to occur, types of wildfire, and causes. For example, lightning is a common cause of wildfires in western states but accounts for only one percent of fires in Pennsylvania. The majority of Eastern wildfires are caused by humans, with debris burning and arson as the leading culprits.

From the Woods: Wildfire's release coincides with Pennsylvania's peak wildfire season. During the spring and the fall when the leaves are off the trees, the sun and wind dries leaves, twigs, and branches on the forest floor. It is one of two times that humidity within the forest gets low enough to cause us to lose our "asbestos" forest. Spring is the time when many of us go outside to clear brush, leaves, and debris from the yard. Some may wait for a sunny, dry, breezy day to burn the debris. Unfortunately, those are the worst days to burn debris since the flames can quickly spread to dry grass or nearby wooded areas. Homeowners must use extra caution when burning debris to prevent spread and protect their properties. The publication reviews simple steps you can take to protect your home from wildfire risk, not only from your own actions, but also should a larger wildfire occur.

An important thing to remember is that not all fires are harmful. Trained professionals conduct controlled burns as a tool to restore native landscapes and manage vegetation. Some trees need or benefit from wildfires, for example, oaks have been shown to respond favorably after fires. Purposefully set, managed, controlled burns are a tool of forest management. The publication gives an overview of their use.

This publication is available from the Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences, Publications Distribution Center. Contact them at 814-865-6713, or the booklet can be downloaded for free at http://pubs.cas.psu.edu/FreePubs/pdfs/uh191.pdf.

Ninety-eight percent of wildfires are caused by humans. Doing your part to understand and prevent wildfires is essential to reducing the risk of damage to your home. Additional information on wildfire prevention, safe debris burning, and alternatives to debris burning are available through your local Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry office. To find your local Bureau of Forestry office visit http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/forestry/serviceforesters_select.aspx.

The Pennsylvania Forest Stewardship Program provides publications on a variety of topics related to woodland management. For a list of free publications, call 800 234 9473 (toll free), send an email to RNRext@psu.edu, or write to Forest Stewardship Program, Forest Resources Extension, The Pennsylvania State University, 416 Forest Resources Building, University Park, PA 16802. The Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry and USDA Forest Service, in Partnership with Penn State's Forest Resource Extension, sponsor the Forest Stewardship Program in Pennsylvania.

Written by: Laurie Schoonhoven