Forest Health Conditions in Alaska 2020
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Forest Service U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Alaska Region | R10-PR-046 | April 2021 Forest Health Conditions in Alaska - 2020 A Forest Health Protection Report U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, State & Private Forestry, Alaska Region Karl Dalla Rosa, Acting Director for State & Private Forestry, 1220 SW Third Avenue, Portland, OR 97204, [email protected] Michael Shephard, Deputy Director State & Private Forestry, 161 East 1st Avenue, Door 8, Anchorage, AK 99501, [email protected] Jason Anderson, Acting Deputy Director State & Private Forestry, 161 East 1st Avenue, Door 8, Anchorage, AK 99501, [email protected] Alaska Forest Health Specialists Forest Service, Forest Health Protection, http://www.fs.fed.us/r10/spf/fhp/ Anchorage, Southcentral Field Office 161 East 1st Avenue, Door 8, Anchorage, AK 99501 Phone: (907) 743-9451 Fax: (907) 743-9479 Betty Charnon, Invasive Plants, FHM, Pesticides, [email protected]; Jessie Moan, Entomologist, [email protected]; Steve Swenson, Biological Science Technician, [email protected] Fairbanks, Interior Field Office 3700 Airport Way, Fairbanks, AK 99709 Phone: (907) 451-2799, Fax: (907) 451-2690 Sydney Brannoch, Entomologist, [email protected]; Garret Dubois, Biological Science Technician, [email protected]; Lori Winton, Plant Pathologist, [email protected] Juneau, Southeast Field Office 11175 Auke Lake Way, Juneau, AK 99801 Phone: (907) 586-8811; Fax: (907) 586-7848 Isaac Dell, Biological Scientist, [email protected]; Elizabeth Graham, Entomologist, [email protected]; Karen Hutten, Aerial Survey Program Manager, [email protected]; Robin Mulvey, Plant Pathologist, [email protected] State of Alaska, Department of Natural Resources Division of Forestry 550 W 7th Avenue, Suite 1450, Anchorage, AK 99501 Phone: (907) 269-8460; Fax: (907) 269-8931 Jason Moan, Forest Health Program Coordinator, [email protected]; Martin Schoofs, Forest Health Forester, [email protected] University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service 219 E. International Airport Road, Anchorage, AK 99518 Phone: (907) 786-6300; Fax: (907) 786-6312 Gino Graziano, Invasive Plants Instructor, [email protected]; Alexandria Wenninger, Integrated Pest Management Program Assistant, [email protected] Cover photo: Spruce needle rust recorded during ground surveys along the Denali Highway, USDA Forest Service photo by Steve Swenson. You can request our aerial survey team to examine specific forest health concerns in your area. Simply include the information below in an email to: Karen Hutten, Forest Service S&PF/FHP email: [email protected] Name: Organization: Contact Information: General description of forest health concern (hosts species affected, damage type, disease or insects observed). The general location of damage. If possible, attach a map or marked USGS Quadrangle map or provide GPS coordinates. Please be as specific as possible, such as reference to island, river drainage, lake system, nearest locale/town/village. Do you need additional forest pest information (e.g., GIS data, extra copies of the 2020 Forest Health Conditions in Alaska Report, etc.)? Please be as specific as possible. If hardcopies are desired, provide a mailing address. WE NEED YOUR FEEDBACK Would you like to remain on our mailing list for the annual Forest Health Conditions in Alaska Report? Simply fill out this form and return it to: Garret Dubois, Forest Service S&PF/FHP, 3700 Airport Way, Fairbanks, AK 99709 Phone (907) 374-3758; fax (907) 451-2690; email: [email protected] Hard Copy: ☐ Electronic Report: ☐ Do corrections need to be made to your physical or electronic address? Has the contact person for your organization changed? Please update any details here. How can we make this report more useful to you and/or your organization? How do you and/or your organization use the information in this report and/or maps on our website (www.fs.usda.gov/ goto/r10/fhp)? Forest Health Conditions in Alaska - 2020 FHP Report R10-PR-46 Edited by: Sydney Brannoch and Jessie Moan Contributors: Jason Anderson, Sydney Brannoch, Dana Brennan, Betty Charnon, Isaac Davis, Isaac Dell, Garret Dubois, Elizabeth Graham, Karen Hutten, Jason Moan, Jessie Moan, Robin Mulvey, Katherine Schake, Michael Shephard, Martin Schoofs, Steve Swenson, Alexandria Wenninger, Lori Winton Design: Carol Teitzel CITATION: FS-R10-FHP. 2020. Forest Health Conditions in Alaska 2020. Anchorage, Alaska. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Alaska Region. Publication R10-PR-46. 76 PAGES Contents Introduction 1 Highlights 2 Partnerships are key to understanding the aspen running canker disease 12 Kenai Peninsula invasive European bird cherry tree program 2020 13 Hemlock sawfly in Southeast Alaska: monitoring a large-scale defoliation event with an interdisciplinary approach 15 Crowd-sourcing forest pest observations: creative ways to monitor forest health during a pandemic 20 STATUS OF DISEASES 21 PATHOLOGY SPECIES UPDATES 22 Foliar Diseases 22 Dothistroma Needle Blight 22 Hardwood Leaf Rusts 22 Hemlock-Blueberry Rust 23 Spruce Needle Casts/Blights 23 Spruce Needle Rusts 23 Shoot, Twig, and Bud Diseases 24 Sirococcus Shoot Blight 24 Spruce Bud Blights 24 Spruce Bud Rust 25 Yellow-Cedar Shoot Blight 25 Stem and Branch Diseases 25 Alder Canker 25 Aspen Running Canker 26 Aspen Target Canker 26 Diplodia Gall 27 Hemlock Dwarf Mistletoe 27 Spruce Broom Rust 28 Western Gall Rust 28 Stem Decays 29 Brown Crumbly Rot 29 Canker-Rot of Birch 29 Trunk Rot of Aspen 30 Trunk Rot of Birch 30 Red Ring Rot 31 Root and Butt Diseases 32 Armillaria Root Disease 32 Brown Cubical Butt Rot 32 Pholiata Butt Rot 33 Tomentosus Root Rot 34 STATUS OF NONINFECTIOUS DISEASES AND DISORDERS 35 NONINFECTIOUS DISEASES & DISORDERS UPDATE 36 Abiotic Damage 36 Drought 36 Mast Seeding of Aspen 36 Western Redcedar Topkill 37 Windthrow 37 AnimalDamage 38 Porcupine 38 SnowshoeHare 38 Forest Declines 38 Yellow-cedar Decline 38 STATUS OF INVASIVE PLANTS 43 INVASIVE PLANTS UPDATES 44 Tongass National Forest 44 Chugach National Forest 44 Partner Updates 45 Other Updates 48 Statewide Updates 50 STA TUS OF INSECTSSTATUSOF 51 INSECTUPDATES 52 Hardwood defoliators-External leaf feeding 52 Aspen Defoliation 52 Balsam Popular Leaf-Folding Sawfly 52 B irch Aphid AphidBirch 54 Western Tent Caterpillar 54 Rusty Tussock Moth 55 Hardwood defoliators-Internal leaf feeding 55 Aspen Leafminer 55 Birch Leafminers 56 Black Cottonwood Leafminers 56 Willow Leafblotch Miner 58 Softwood defoliators 59 Sp ruce aphidSpruce 59 Sp ruce budwormSpruce 59 Hemlock sawfly 59 Western blackheaded budworm 59 Bark BeetlesBark 60 Spruce Beetle 60 Northern Spruce Engraver 62 U rban Pests PestsUrban 64 APPENDICES 65 Appendix I: Aerial Detection Survey 66 Appendix II: Damage Type by Category 73 Appendix III: Information Delivery 74 Maps Map 1. Ground surveys along roads 2 Map 2. Map of citizen science observations 3 Map 3. Aerial Detection Replacement Surveys 7 Map 4. Aerial Detection Replacement Survey Areas 8 Map 5. Kenai Peninsula Prunus survey data 14 Map 6. Cumulative hemlock sawfly damage from 2018 to 2020 19 Map 7. Dothistroma needle blight cumulative mapped locations and modeled host tree distribution(s) 22 Map 8. Hardwood leaf rusts cumulative mapped locations and modeled host tree distribution(s) 22 Map 9. Spruce needles casts/blights cumulative mapped locations and modeled host tree distribution(s) 23 Map 10. Spruce needle rust cumulative mapped locations and modeled host tree distribution(s) 23 Map 11. Sirococcus shoot blight cumulative mapped locations and modeled host tree distribution(s) 24 Map 12. Spruce bud blight cumulative mapped locations and modeled host tree distribution(s) 24 Map 13. Spruce bud rust cumulative mapped locations and modeled host tree distribution(s) 25 Map 14. Alder canker cumulative mapped locations and modeled host tree distribution(s) 25 Map 15. Aspen running canker cumulative mapped locations and modeled host tree distribution(s) 26 Map 16. Aspen target canker cumulative mapped locations and modeled host tree distribution(s) 26 Map 17. Diplodia gall cumulative mapped locations and modeled host tree distribution(s) 27 Map 18. Hemlock dwarf mistletoe cumulative mapped locations and modeled host tree distribution(s) 27 Map 19. Spruce broom rust cumulative mapped locations and modeled host tree distribution(s) 28 Map 20. Western gall rust cumulative mapped locations and modeled host tree distribution(s) 28 Map 21. Brown crumbly rot disease cumulative mapped locations and modeled host tree distribution(s) 29 Map 22. Canker-rot of birch disease cumulative mapped locations and modeled host tree distribution(s) 29 Map 23. Trunk Rot of Aspen cumulative mapped locations and modeled host tree distribution(s) 30 Map 24. Trunk Rot of Birch cumulative mapped locations and modeled host tree distribution(s) 30 Map 25. Red ring rot disease cumulative mapped locations and modeled host tree distribution(s) 31 Map 26. Armillaria root disease cumulative mapped locations and modeled host tree distribution(s) 32 Map 27. Brown cubical butt rot disease cumulative mapped locations and modeled host tree distribution(s) 32 Map 28. Pholiota butt rot disease cumulative mapped locations and modeled host tree distribution(s) 33 Map 29. Tomentosus root disease cumulative mapped locations and modeled host tree distribution(s) 34 Map 30. Current (2020) yellow-cedar decline mapped in Southeast Alaska by aerial survey since the 1980s 41 Map 31. All spruce beetle damage mapped statewide during imagery interpretation and ground surveys in 2020 61 Map 32. Spruce beetle damage mapped in Southcentral Alaska during imagery interpretation and ground surveys in 2020 63 Tables Table 1. Damage acreage mapped in 2020 across land owerships using high-resolution satellite imagery 9 Table 2. Mapped affected area (in thousands of acres) from 2016 to 2020 from aerial survey 10 Table 3. Ground observations of forest insects and pathogens in Alaska in 2020 11 Table 4. Cumulative acreage affected by yellow-cedar decline as of 2020 in Southeast Alaska by ownership 42 Juneau. He started working for Forest Health Introduction Protection in 2015 in Colorado.