Symposium Proceedings Spruce Budworm Dealing with the New Outbreak Quebec City February 19–20, 2014 Symposium organizers Natural Resources Canada – Canadian Forest Service, Laurentian Forestry Centre Ministère des Ressources naturelles du Québec Ordre des ingénieurs forestiers du Québec © Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, 2014 Catalogue Number: Fo114-15/2014E-PDF ISBN: 978-1-100-24881-3 2 SYMPOSIUM PROCEEDINGS SPRUCE BUDWORM DEALING WITH THE NEW OUTBREAK Quebec City February 19 and 20, 2014 3 Table of Contents Note to Readers ........................................................................................................................................................................ 6 Message from the Organizing Committee ..................................................................................................................... 7 Partners ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 8 Background ................................................................................................................................................................................ 9 Symposium Objectives .......................................................................................................................................................... 9 Target Clientele ........................................................................................................................................................................ 9 Program . ................................................................................................................................................................................... 1 0 Guest Speaker Biographies ................................................................................................................................................ 13 Current Status of the Spruce Budworm Outbreak in Quebec.............................................................................. 24 Northern Expansion of the Spruce Budworm and Boreal Forest Resilience ................................................ 30 From There to Here: Assessing the Origin of Spruce Budworm Immigrants ............................................... 36 Environmental Factors Influencing the Triggering and Initial Expansion of the Current Spruce Budworm Outbreak .............................................................................................................................................................. 40 Spatio-temporal Analysis of Spruce Budworm Outbreaks ................................................................................... 48 Dealing with a Spruce Budworm Outbreak within an Ecosystem Management Context: How to Adjust Forest Planning? ...................................................................................................................................................... 52 Consideration of Spruce Budworm in Timber Supply Analysis: Current Situation and Upcoming Developments ......................................................................................................................................................................... 59 Spruce Budworm: Bugging Our Plans!! ........................................................................................................................ 61 Integrating Spruce Budworm Ecology and Forest Management Planning Through a Risk Analysis Framework ............................................................................................................................................................................... 64 Achieving Efficiency in the Direct Protection of Forests by Making Room for Innovation..................... 69 5 The Founding Principles of the Early Intervention Strategy against the Spruce Budworm .................. 80 Challenges Associated with the Salvage of Wood and Managing Volumes Affected by the Spruce Budworm .................................................................................................................................................................................. 86 Fibre Quality in a Context of Successive Defoliation by the Spruce Budworm in the North Shore Region………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………88 Resistance of Managed Stands and White Spruce to Spruce Budworm ......................................................... 99 Impact of Spruce Budworm on Landscapes and Effects of Landscape Structure on Outbreaks ...... 104 Wood Degradation Caused by Bark Beetles and Woodborers Following Spruce Budworm Outbreaks ............................................................................................................................................................................... 109 Profitability of Spraying for Spruce Budworm and Market Opportunities for Damaged Wood ....... 115 Spruce Budworm Management Approach ............................................................................................................... 122 Spruce Budworm: After a Century of Observation, Conjecture and Insight, What Can We Predict? .................................................................................................................................................................................. 125 Note to Readers The texts included in these proceedings are printed as submitted and the authors remain responsible for both the form and content of their papers. The texts were not extensively reviewed by peers, nor by CFS-LFC editors. 6 Message from the Organizing Committee Welcome to Quebec City and to the Spruce Budworm: Dealing with a New Outbreak Symposium, organized jointly by Natural Resources Canada, the Ministère des Ressources naturelles du Québec and the Ordre des ingénieurs forestiers du Québec. The Symposium program was designed to promote discussions among the participants. Your presence demonstrates very clearly the importance this topic has for you. The last symposium of this kind was held in Shawinigan in 2001. With a new outbreak that began a few years ago in some of Quebec’s regions and that is now beginning to spread across Eastern Canada, there was a need to hold a meeting during which participants could share their knowledge, strategies and research findings. Nearly 20 guest speakers from the research community, industry and government, mainly from Quebec but also from the rest of Canada, will give presentations on topics centred on five main themes: current situation, forest planning, intervention, mitigation/salvaging activities, and perspectives. We hope that the presence of these various research scientists and practitioners will lead to constructive and instructive discussions and that all participants will leave with information that is relevant to their work. We also invite you to actively participate in the group discussions and plenary session held at the end of the Symposium in order to share your knowledge and discuss the challenges ahead. The Committee thanks all those who helped organize this Symposium. The Organizing Committee François-Hugues Bernier Ordre des ingénieurs forestiers du Québec Cédric Fournier Ministère des Ressources naturelles du Québec Francis Gaumond Ordre des ingénieurs forestiers du Québec Jacques Jacques Larouche Natural Resources Canada Véronique Martel, Chair Natural Resources Canada Louis Morneau Ministère des Ressources naturelles du Québec 7 Partners 8 Background The spruce budworm outbreak has been spreading across Quebec for the past few years. This past summer, the pests were very active and the size of the affected areas expanded. The outbreak now extends over 3 million hectares and affects parts of the North Shore, Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean, Lower St. Lawrence and Gaspé regions. It is also threatening to spread into New Brunswick and the northeastern United States. To take stock of the situation, the Ministère des Ressources naturelles du Québec (MNRQ), Natural Resources Canada and the Ordre des ingénieurs forestiers du Québec have organized this bilingual Symposium under the theme Spruce Budworm: Dealing with the New Outbreak. The Symposium is an opportunity to share new knowledge of spruce budworm acquired in the past decade, to present various approaches to managing outbreak-affected forests in Eastern Canada, and to explore what needs to be known about spruce budworm in the future. Symposium Objectives • Raise awareness of various approaches to managing outbreak-affected forests in Eastern Canada. • Share new research and development knowledge with Eastern Canada forest management practitioners from the perspectives of (1) forest protection, (2) adaptation of forest management, and (3) post-outbreak salvaging of dead wood. • Explore what needs to be known about spruce budworm in the future. Target Clientele Eastern Canada forest management practitioners: MRNQ (regions), managers, forest managers, industry and other forest community stakeholders who are concerned about spruce budworm and whose activities involve public or private forests in Quebec, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia or Ontario. 9 Program Day 1 – February 19, 2014 (Moderator: Lise Caron) 8:00 a.m. Welcoming of participants 8:30 a.m. Introductory remarks Jacinthe Leclerc, Director General Laurentian Forestry Centre (LFC), Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) Richard Savard, For. Eng. Assistant Deputy Minister Ministère des Ressources naturelles