MMOONNTTAANNAA FFoorreesstt IInnsseecctt aanndd DDiisseeaassee CCoonnddiittiioonnss aanndd PPrrooggrraamm HHiigghhlliigghhttss -- 22000033 Report 04-1 2004 Compiled By: Larry Meyer, USDA Forest Service, Northern Region, State and Private Forestry, Forest Health Protection Contributors: Beverly Bulaon, Gregg DeNitto, Ken Gibson, Marcus Jackson, Bob James, Sandy Kegley, Blakey Lockman, Larry Stipe, Nancy Sturdevant, USDA Forest Service, Northern Region, State and Private Forestry, Forest Health Protection; Steve Kohler, Brennan Ferguson, Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation, Forestry Division Data Summary and Map Production: Larry Stipe, USDA Forest Service, Northern Region, State and Private Forestry, Forest Health Protection Cover Photo: White pine blister rust in whitebark pine, courtesy of Marcus Jackson, USDA Forest Service. Mountain pine beetle mass mortality in lodgepole pine, archives, USDA Forest Service. Text Edits: Linda Hastie, USDA Forest Service, Northern Region, Administrative Staff TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................1 SUMMARY OF CONDITIONS ......................................................................................................1 Bark Beetles............................................................................................................................................1 Defoliators ...............................................................................................................................................1 Root Diseases.........................................................................................................................................2 Dwarf Mistletoes.....................................................................................................................................2 White Pine Blister Rust..........................................................................................................................2 Limber Pine Decline...............................................................................................................................2 ANNUAL AERIAL SURVEY..........................................................................................................2 INSECTS ......................................................................................................................................4 Abbreviations ..........................................................................................................................................4 BARK BEETLE CONDITIONS BY REPORTING AREA IN BRIEF...............................................4 BARK BEETLE CONDITIONS BY REPORTING AREA...............................................................5 Beaverhead Reporting Area .................................................................................................................5 Bitterroot Reporting Area ......................................................................................................................7 Custer Reporting Area...........................................................................................................................8 Deerlodge Reporting Area ....................................................................................................................9 Flathead Reporting Area .....................................................................................................................10 Gallatin Reporting Area .......................................................................................................................12 Helena Reporting Area........................................................................................................................13 Kootenai Reporting Area.....................................................................................................................14 Lewis & Clark Reporting Area ............................................................................................................16 Lolo Reporting Area.............................................................................................................................16 Garnet Mountains (BLM).....................................................................................................................19 INDIAN RESERVATIONS...........................................................................................................19 NATIONAL PARKS.....................................................................................................................20 DEFOLIATORS...........................................................................................................................21 Western Spruce Budworm..................................................................................................................21 Douglas-fir Tussock Moth ...................................................................................................................22 Table 1. Douglas-fir tussock moth trap catches western Montana 1995-2003 ..........................23 Gypsy Moth ...........................................................................................................................................23 Other Defoliators ..................................................................................................................................23 DISEASES ..................................................................................................................................24 Root Diseases.......................................................................................................................................24 White Pine Blister Rust........................................................................................................................25 Dwarf Mistletoes...................................................................................................................................25 Heartwood Stem Decays ....................................................................................................................26 Foliage Diseases..................................................................................................................................27 Elytroderma needle blight ...................................................................................................................27 Sphaeropsis (Diplodia) shoot blight and canker..............................................................................27 Western gall rust and Sphaeropsis shoot blight ..............................................................................27 DECLINES ..................................................................................................................................28 Limber Pine Decline and Mortality.....................................................................................................28 Subalpine Fir Mortality.........................................................................................................................28 Aspen Mortality.....................................................................................................................................28 ABIOTIC......................................................................................................................................28 Herbicide................................................................................................................................................28 Drought ..................................................................................................................................................28 Hazard Tree Management in Recreation Sites ...............................................................................28 Nursery Diseases .................................................................................................................................29 i Tree Improvement Plantation Diseases............................................................................................30 SPECIAL PROJECTS.................................................................................................................30 1. Changes in Fire-Killed Western Larch.........................................................................................30 2. Larch Dwarf Mistletoe Remeasurements....................................................................................30 3. Assessing the Effectiveness of Management Activities on DFB Populations .......................30 4. Testing Efficacy of Verbenone Pouch in Reducing MPB-Caused Mortality in PP................31 5. West-Wide Evaluation of Bifenthron as a Protectant against Bark Beetle Attacks ..............32 6. Testing Efficacy of Verbenone Pouch in Reducing MPB-Caused Mortality in WBP............33 7. Annosum Survey.............................................................................................................................33 COMMON AND SCIENTIFIC NAMES........................................................................................35 Pathogens .............................................................................................................................................35 Insects....................................................................................................................................................35 PUBLICATIONS