Western North American Defoliator Working Group and Bark Beetle Technical Working Group Meeting Bend, Oregon October 23-25, 2018 Tuesday, October 23 Western North American Defoliator Working Group Moderator: Darci Dickinson Attendees There were 33 attendees along with 7 others who participated remotely via conference call. These included USDA Forest Service representatives from Regions 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, and 9, as well as from the Pacific Northwest, Pacific Southwest and Rocky Mountain Research Stations and the Washington Office. State representatives from Alaska, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah and Washington were present as well as attendees from APHIS-PPQ and from private industry in Canada. A complete contact list is provided at the end of the meeting notes. Review of Previous Action Items Note: Action items to complete in 2019 are indicated in blue throughout the document. Aerial Pesticide Applications: Nancy Sturdevant will compile a list of recent defoliator spray projects from all FS regions and descriptions of their relative effectiveness. Douglas-fir tussock moth database: Iral Ragenovich is working with the Forest Health Assessment and Applied Sciences Team (FHAAST) to analyze the DFTM - Early Warning System trapping database. Douglas-fir tussock moth outbreaks: Carlos Polivka requested information regarding emerging or ongoing outbreaks of DFTM to assist in virus modeling research. Western Spruce Budworm: Darren Blackford and others are continuing to compile an EndNote database on WSB and silvicultural approaches. Darren will provide this, when complete, for posting on the working group website. Western Spruce Budworm: Beth Willhite requested input on what information would be valuable for planned analyses of Bruce Hostetler’s 11-year WSB impact study plots. Balsam woolly adelgid: The WNADWG moderator will schedule a session on BWA, for the 2019 meeting, focused on current survey/monitoring/research needs and interactions with bark beetles and other damaging agents. Pandora moth: Jim Kruse requested Pandora moth life stages be provided where available to assist in ongoing population genetic analyses. Black Pineleaf Scale: Amy Gannon and August Kramer requested reports or other information from the working group on black pineleaf scale. 1 Defoliator-Bark Beetle Interactions: Alex Pane (Univ. of WA graduate student) requested reports or other information from the working group on interactions between defoliators, bark beetles and woodborers in Douglas-fir and/or red alder. Annual State and Regional Reports Note: Defoliator conditions reports were distributed to the group and provide additional details to the summaries below. Please contact the individuals listed here for more information or copies of these reports. European and Asian Gypsy Moth in the West Karen Ripley and Jim LaBonte provided the following updates for Oregon and Washington: In 2018, ODA trapped 35 gypsy moths at 9 sites – all EGM. They’re proposing to treat one site in Corvallis (45 acres) in spring 2019, where 27 moths were detected. The treatment will be a ground-based application. ODA’s 2018 gypsy moth report can be found here: https://www.oregon.gov/ODA/programs/IPPM/SurveyTreatment/Pages/GypsyMoth.aspx In 2018, WSDA trapped 52 gypsy moths – 51 EGM and 1 AGM. They’re proposing to treat four sites totaling approximately 1,700 acres this spring. These include 3 EGM detection sites and the site of the 1 AGM capture, the first detection in WA since 2015. Details on these detections and the proposed treatments can be found here: https://agr.wa.gov/departments/insects-pests-and-weeds/gypsy-moth Andrea Hefty provided an update on the single AGM capture that occurred near Santa Cruz, CA in 2017. In 2018, another single AGM was detected nearby, but there are no plans for eradication treatments at this time. Robbie Flowers provided the following summary of AGM monitoring overseas: Because of continued AGM detections in the U.S., the USDA maintains a map of high-risk areas in cooperation with the governments of Russia, Japan, China, and South Korea. These cooperative programs minimize the risk of AGM introductions into North America through inspections and certifications of vessels entering U.S. ports from these locations. Cooperative port monitoring and ship inspection programs for AGM and other Lymantria spp. are conducted annually in many overseas ports within the designated high-risk area. Ongoing program goals include: 1) continuing to improve communication among stakeholders, the shipping industry, and the National Plant Protection Organization (NAPPO); 2) increasing the number of vessels arriving with compliance certificates; and 3) developing best regulatory options for increasing program compliance and reducing potential introductions into North America. In 2018, there were 25 AGM detections by U.S. CBP on 1569 vessels (Japan: 21, Russia: 1, China: 2, South Korea: 1). Infested ships are usually ordered out of U.S. waters to be cleaned and are re-inspected on return; which is costly to the shipping companies affected. This year, vessel inspection and certification compliance reached a high of 92%, and has steadily improved over the last decade. Meetings among the various government agencies that cooperate in these programs are ongoing and included recent visits to the U.S. and Canada by representatives from Russia in 2017 and South Korea in 2018. 2 Note: Other gypsy moth detections in the western U.S. were provided by State and regional forest health representatives as part of the annual insect defoliator summary reports. Douglas-fir Tussock Moth (DFTM) DFTM highlight reports by state and region were distributed to the working group by: Lee Pedersen (R1), Darren Blackford (R4), Amy Lockner/Rebecca Stokes (R2), Monica Gaylord (R3), Andrea Hefty/Sheri Smith (R5), Jason Moan (AK), Tom Eckberg/Erika Eidson (ID), Amy Gannon (MT), Christine Buhl (OR), Melissa Fischer (WA) and Lorraine Maclauchlan (BC). Connie Mehmel provided an updated on increasing populations and defoliation by DFTM in Wenatchee NF in R6: Additional monitoring and sampling is ongoing and an aerial spray project using TM Biocontrol virus is being considered in 2019. Laura Lowrey provided the following update on DFTM in southern Idaho: Defoliation continued in the Sagehen Reservoir Recreation Area of the Boise NF where previous trapping and egg mass/larval surveys indicated likely increases in 2018. Defoliation generally increased from less than 1/3 of the live crown to up to 2/3 across this area during a two-week period with extreme temperatures in July and August. Defoliation and egg mass surveys were completed in fall 2018 over the 30,000 Sagehen EA area at the request of the Forest Supervisor. The sampling indicated another year of heavy defoliation in 2019, with bark beetle outbreaks likely to follow given the ongoing drought and poor snowpack predictions for 2019. Western spruce budworm was also present, but did not compete well within the surveyed area. Additional monitoring and sampling will be completed in 2019. Erika Eidson and Tom Eckberg provided the following DFTM update for Idaho: Trap captures in southern ID began increasing in 2014 with visible defoliation observed near Craters of the Moon NM, the Owyhee Mountains and the Payette and Boise NFs in 2017. In 2018, widespread defoliation was observed on the Boise NF as well as State and Private lands; logging activity occurred within affected areas on Boise-Cascade lands. There was an issue with annual forest health flights this year in terms of ADS timing and interference from smoke. This resulted in much of the 2018 defoliation not being documented. Ground surveys indicated up to 90% defoliation in some areas. DFTM egg mass sequential surveys also found large numbers, with virus and parasite activity observed at some sites. In northern ID, trap captures increased dramatically in 2018 and visible defoliation is expected within 2 years. Lorraine Maclaughlan submitted the following update on DFTM in British Columbia: In British Columbia, there was visible DFTM defoliation in the Kamloops area in 2017 and 2018. Most of our permanent trapping sites have been showing increases, with some sites in the Okanagan area with >20 moths/trap this year. Further defoliation is expected in the area next year. We are putting out three lure types (Synergy, Scott’s, and ChemTica) in all of our monitoring locations for the duration of one outbreak cycle. This is similar to the testing being done by Iral in the PNW. Please let me know if any additional information from BC would be of interest. The DFTM trapping data has been updated and is currently available on the R6 website from 1979-2017 as a Microsoft Access database. https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/r6/forest- grasslandhealth/insects-diseases/?cid=stelprdb5374307 3 Lee Pederson has provided the final draft of the DFTM Forest Insect and Disease Leaflet (FIDL) to Karen Ripley for review and publication. Western Spruce Budworm (WSB) Nancy Sturdevant was unable to attend this year, but will provide an update on WSB monitoring/impact plots in R1 in 2019. Lorraine Maclaughlan submitted the following update on WSB in British Columbia: WSB is building again throughout B.C., with the most noticeable increase in defoliation and density of egg masses (212 sites sampled to-date in 2018) in the Cariboo. There may be a small spray program (<12,000 ha) in 2019. Populations are also building in the Thompson- Okanagan Region but in very spatially discrete areas so no B.t.k. spray program is planned for 2019. The aerial overview mapping is not yet available for the Kootenay Boundary but small areas of defoliation were noted just north of the U.S. border. No spray programs are planned there in 2019. We anticipate WSB populations will expand significantly over the next few years in all the historic areas. Beth Willhite provided an update on Bruce Hostetler’s WSB impact plots in R6: Bruce installed 25 plots (representing >5,600 trees) and monitored these from 1986-1997 (absent 1-year).