Pest Risk Analysis: Risk Assessment of the Threat of Brown Spruce Longhorn Beetle to Nova Scotia Forests
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PEST RISK ANALYSIS Risk Assessment of the Threat of Brown Spruce Longhorn Beetle to Nova Scotia Forests PEST RISK ANALYSIS Risk Assessment of the Threat of Brown Spruce Longhorn Beetle to Nova Scotia Forests PEST RISK ANALYSIS Risk Assessment of the Threat of Brown Spruce Longhorn Beetle to Nova Scotia Forests Compiled by: Department of Natural Resources Forest Protection Shubenacadie, Nova Scotia 2013 Canadian Council of Forest Ministers Forest Pest Working Group © Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, as represented by the Minister of Natural Resources Canada, 2014 Cat. no.: Fo4-50/2014E-PDF ISBN 978-1-100-25354-1 This report is a product of the Canadian Council of Forest Ministers Forest Pest Working Group. A pdf version of this publication is available through the Canadian Forest Service Publications Web site: http://cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/publications An electronic version is also available from the Canadian Council of Forest Ministers’ website: http://ccfm.org Cet ouvrage est publié en français sous le titre : Analyse du risque phytosanitaire, évaluation de la menace que pose le longicorne brun de l’épinette pour les forêts de la Nouvelle-Écosse. Design and layout: Julie Piché Photo credits Cover: top right and bottom left, Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA). Page 5, CFIA. Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication Pest risk analysis: risk assessment of the threat of brown spruce longhorn beetle to Nova Scotia forests. Issued also in French under title: Analyse du risque phytosanitaire, évaluation de la menace que pose le longicorne brun de l’épinette pour les forêts de la Nouvelle-Écosse. Electronic monograph in PDF format. Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 978-1-100-25354-1 Cat. no.: Fo4-50/2014E-PDF 1. Brown spruce longhorn beetle--Nova Scotia. 2. Brown spruce longhorn beetle--Control--Nova Scotia. 3. Spruce--Diseases and pests--Risk assessment--Nova Scotia. 4. Spruce--Diseases and pests- -Control--Nova Scotia. 5. Forest management--Nova Scotia. I. Canadian Council of Forest Ministers II. Title: Risk assessment of the threat of brown spruce longhorn beetle to Nova Scotia forests. SB945 B424 P47 2014 634.9’7526764809716 C2014-980053-3 Information contained in this publication may be reproduced, in part or in whole, and by any means, for personal or public non-commercial purposes, without charge or further permission, unless otherwise specified. 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[email protected] CONTENTS Acknowledgements................................................................................................................................6 Executive Summary ................................................................................................................................6 Introduction .................................................................................................................................................8 Risk Analysis Overview .....................................................................................................................10 Triggers for This BSLB Risk Assessment ...................................................................................12 Objectives .................................................................................................................................................12 Risk Communication for the BSLB Risk Analysis ................................................................12 Risk Assessment ...................................................................................................................................13 Nature of the Threat ........................................................................................................................13 Likelihood of Occurrence ...............................................................................................................15 Magnitude of Occurrence ...............................................................................................................19 Consequence of Occurrence .......................................................................................................26 Summary and Conclusions ...........................................................................................................37 Recommendations ...............................................................................................................................39 References ................................................................................................................................................42 Appendix A. Knowledge Synthesis Workshop, Fredericton, NB, September 6, 2012 ...............................................................................................................................50 Appendix B. August/September 2012 issue of The Insectary Notes .............................61 Appendix C. Merchantable Volume Assessment of Red Spruce in Nova Scotia .........................................................................................................................................62 Apendix D. Impact of the Brown Spruce Longhorn Beetle on the Forest Industry within Nova Scotia ............................................................................63 Acknowledgements The Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources would like to acknowledge guidance from: the Canadian Food Inspection Agency; Gardner Pinfold Consultants Inc.; members of the National Forest Pest Strategy Technical Committee; researchers at the Canadian Forest Service and the New Brunswick Department of Natural Resources; senior executives with the Maritime Lumber Bureau, the Federation of Nova Scotia Woodlot Owners, and the Forest Products Association of Nova Scotia; and affiliates of the University of New Brunswick, Halifax Regional Water Commission and Halifax Regional Municipality. Funding for the workshop and the consultant report was provided by the National Forest Pest Strategy under the Canadian Council of Forest Ministers. Executive Summary The brown spruce longhorn beetle (BSLB) (Tetropium fuscum (F.)) is an invasive forest insect from Europe that infests spruce trees. BSLB was discovered in Halifax in 1999, but has been established in Nova Scotia since at least 1990. It likely arrived in wood packaging aboard container ships. BSLB is not known to be established anywhere else in North America. To help slow or prevent the insect’s spread, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) issued a Ministerial Order in October 2000 (revised in 2007 and 2013). The order restricts the movement of spruce round logs and firewood of all species out of the containment area in Nova Scotia to prevent the spread of BSLB to non-infested areas. From 2012 to 2014, the Province of Nova Scotia conducted a pest risk analysis (PRA) in response to new BSLB finds outside the containment area. The PRA used the Risk Analysis Framework developed as part of the National Forest Pest Strategy under the Canadian Council of Forest Ministers. The area of interest for this PRA was restricted to Nova Scotia and the triggers that led to its initiation. The Province recognized the need to re-evaluate BSLB risk management in light of the successes and failures of the existing approach, and to take advantage of new science. The broad objectives of this PRA were to: • estimate the rate and direction of BSLB spread and establishment; • identify the values at risk to BSLB colonization; • characterize the risk of BSLB; • develop conclusions and describe factors that could, over the short and long terms, influence the volume of vulnerable host material in Nova Scotia; and 6 PEST RISK ANALYSIS: RISK ASSESSMENT OF THE THREAT OF BROWN SPRUCE LONGHORN BEETLE TO NOVA SCOTIA FORESTS • describe BSLB management options and identify future research needs. Risk assessment for forest pests considers the likelihood of occurrence, the potential for establishment and spread, and the consequences of introduction. The overall risk posed by BSLB to Nova Scotia’s forests was assessed using available evidence and advice from experts. Risk factors were characterized according to affirmative statements followed by supporting evidence and an explicit identification of any uncertainty or knowledge gaps. Where uncertainty existed, its level was then ranked as either low, moderate or high. The outcomes of this risk assessment have determined that BSLB poses a low to moderate risk to the forests of Nova Scotia. The possibility of BSLB occurring throughout the province is highly likely, but the magnitude of the consequences—based on those seen to date in terms of economic, social and environmental values—is low. Moderate to high uncertainties and information needs elevated the overall risk assessment of BSLB from low to low–moderate. Given these findings and their implications for risk response and management of BSLB, it is recommended that: • Movement of spruce wood products, logs and