FOREST INSECT AND DISEASE CONDITIONS IN VERMONT 2011 AGENCY OF NATURAL RESOURCES DEPARTMENT OF FORESTS, PARKS & RECREATION WATERBURY - VERMONT 05671-0601 STATE OF VERMONT PETER SHUMLIN, GOVERNOR AGENCY OF NATURAL RESOURCES DEBORAH L. MARKOWITZ, SECRETARY DEPARTMENT OF FORESTS, PARKS & RECREATION Michael C. Snyder, Commissioner Steven J. Sinclair, Director of Forests http://www.vtfpr.org/ We gratefully acknowledge the financial and technical support provided by the USDA Forest Service, Northeastern Area State and Private Forestry that enables us to conduct the surveys and publish the results in this report. This report serves as the final report for fulfillment of the Cooperative Lands – Survey and Technical Assistance and Forest Health Monitoring programs. FOREST INSECT AND DISEASE CONDITIONS IN VERMONT CALENDAR YEAR 2011 Tropical Storm Irene toppled trees, exposed root systems and wounded stems from floating debris. Photo Credit: L. Carlson PREPARED BY: Barbara Burns, Kathy Decker, Tess Greaves, Trish Hanson, Tom Simmons, Sandra Wilmot AGENCY OF NATURAL RESOURCES DEPARTMENT OF FORESTS, PARKS & RECREATION (Intentionally Blank) TABLE OF CONTENTS Vermont 2011 Forest Health Highlights ........................................................................ 1 Forest Resource Protection Personnel ........................................................................... 9 Introduction ................................................................................................................ 10 Acknowledgments ........................................................................................................ 10 Special Acknowledgement ..............................................................................................11 2011 Publications ......................................................................................................... 17 Weather Highlights December 2010 to December 2011 ................................................ 18 Weather and Phenology ............................................................................................... 21 Forest Insects ............................................................................................................... 39 Hardwood Defoliators ....................................................................................... 39 Birch Defoliation ............................................................................................................................. 39 Bruce Spanworm ............................................................................................................................... 39 Forest Tent Caterpillar ................................................................................................................... 39 Gypsy Moth ..................................................................................................................................... 40 Other Hardwood Defoliators .......................................................................................................... 42 Softwood Defoliators ......................................................................................... 45 Spruce Budworm ............................................................................................................................. 45 Other Softwood Defoliators ............................................................................................................. 47 Sapsucking Insects, Midges and Mites ............................................................... 48 Hemlock Woolly Adelgid ................................................................................................................ 48 Pear Thrips ....................................................................................................................................... 51 Other Sapsucking Insects, Midges and Mites ................................................................................. 53 Bud and Shoot Insects ....................................................................................... 55 Root Insects ....................................................................................................... 56 Bark and Wood Insects ...................................................................................... 57 Asian Longhorned Beetle ................................................................................................................ 57 Brown Spruce Longhorned Beetle and Black Spruce Beetle .......................................................... 58 Emerald Ash Borer.......................................................................................................................... 58 Firewood .......................................................................................................................................... 62 Trypodendron Bark Beetle Surveys ............................................................................................... 63 Other Bark and Wood Insects ......................................................................................................... 65 Fruit, Nut and Flower Insects ............................................................................ 67 Forest Diseases ............................................................................................................ 68 Stem Diseases .................................................................................................... 68 Ash Yellows ..................................................................................................................................... 68 Beech Bark Disease ........................................................................................................................... 68 Butternut Canker ............................................................................................................................ 69 White Pine Blister Rust .................................................................................................................. 69 Other Stem Diseases ........................................................................................................................ 71 i Foliage Diseases ................................................................................................ 73 Anthracnose ..................................................................................................................................... 73 Septoria Leafspot on Birch ................................................................................................................73 White Pine Needlecast ..................................................................................................................... 75 Other Foliage Diseases .................................................................................................................... 76 Root Diseases ................................................................................................... 78 Diebacks, Declines, and Environmental Diseases ............................................. 79 Birch Decline and Mortality ........................................................................................................... 79 Frost Damage and Recovery ........................................................................................................... 79 Spruce-Fir Decline .......................................................................................................................... 81 Wet Sites ......................................................................................................................................... 82 Spring Flooding .............................................................................................................................. 82 Fall Flooding .................................................................................................................................. 82 Wind Damage/Ice Damage/Snow Damage .................................................................................. 83 Mortality Study ................................................................................................................................. 86 Other Diebacks, Declines, and Environmental Diseases .............................................................. 87 Animal Damage ........................................................................................................... 89 Invasive Plants ............................................................................................................. 90 Trends in Forest Health ................................................................................................ 91 Sugar Maple Health in 2011 ............................................................................................................ 91 Trends in Forest Health at Mt. Mansfield ..................................................................................... 93 Other Forest Health Related Updates for 2011 .............................................................................. 95 ii FIGURES Figure 1. Monthly average temperature and total monthly precipitation in 2011, compared to normal for Burlington, Vermont. ....................................................................................................................... 25 Figure 2. Monthly rainfall amounts (in inches) at Vermont fire weather observation stations through fire season, April – October, 2011. .......................................................................................................