Prince George, B.C. – They  are small,  but they are having a major  impact on the  forests in the interior, they  are the Spruce Bark Beetle,  and  a two day conference  is underway in Prince George to learn how  all  stakeholders can work together to  mitigate the  impact of the latest invasion.The  infestation  will have an impact on decisions about the mid term timber supply in the  region says B.C.’s Chief Forester, Diane Nicholls ” We are looking at the impacts of the Spruce Beetle, on top of the impacts of the mountain Pine Beetle,  we’re looking at  not just what it’s doing to the mid term timber supply  but  what it’s actually also doing on other values  on the land base,  be that   wildlife  habitat,  be that water management,   be that recreational  opportunities.  Spruce Beetle as you know is a different beast than the mountain pine beetle, it is usually  in salt and pepper stands, they are not mono-culture stands of spruce,  They are   mixed with other species,  and those other species, as well as the spruce,  are part of our mid term timber supply.”

Nicholls says  the study of the  spruce beetle infestation has three  aspects:

• detection of the current  population,  where its growing, how its diminishing,  how its moving
• direction to licensees  for treatment,  so  how are people going to address  the damage that is being done, how  do licensees operationally get at that wood where it makes sense.  Identify where  wood is not accessible.
• while respecting the mid-term timber supply needs,  really recognizing  what is needed across the land base  for the other  values as well.

The Spruce  Beetle is no stranger  to  B.C. , in fact,  Entomologist  Robert Hodgkinson says  throughout North America, “Anywhere white spruce grows,  you will find the spruce beetle”

He says there are  some factors which make a beetle population turn into  an epidemic.

• favourable habitat (blowdown) and  favourable  weather   with no early or late cold snaps  allow the beetle population to build.
• over mature forest, or a forest that’s under stress provide the  susceptible hosts

Hodgkinson says  the spruce beetle has a two year life cycle and like the Mountain Pine Beetle can produce it’s own form of “anti-freeze” to  make it through  the winter.  Only cold snaps of  minus 32 or colder, which come on before the beetle has a chance to produce  the ‘anti-freeze’  will kill it.   Woodpeckers are also helpful in  reducing the beetle population,  eating 2200 larvae a day, but because they are territorial,  they  prevent other woodpeckers from assisting in the  job  so  they are not  capable of  wiping  out the  spruce beetle  population.

On the eve of the conference,  the Ministry of Forests released data which shows the  infestation is larger than  had been thought in the Prince George and Mackenzie forest districts.  The latest  information  pegs the infestation  at  about 210 thousand hectares,  with 137 thousand hectares  located in the Prince George Forest District.   That is a significant increase over the  estimates from 2015  which   noted 156 thousand hectares in the entire Omineca region were  infected.

Chief Forester Nicholls says  this infestation, on the heels of the Mountain Pine Beetle,  has changed  the landscape “Knowing that mountain pine  beetle has come through and we have done extensive  harvesting to salvage that  pine beetle wood,   we’re in a different landscape  now, and we need to think about what we need for balance  across that landscape, what makes sense for all the needs.  I think that’s our trick here today,  so we all  get a good understanding of the life cycle of the beast we are looking at   what the historical information tells us,  what the new population  information tells us from our recent surveys, and what do we  do  proactively, collaboratively, together to make sure we are making the best decisions  for this time and the future for this area of the province.”

While  today’s  session  is the  first of a two day summit on the  Spruce Beetle,  Nicholls says   the summit will not be the last of the meetings on this subject “I suspect that as we learn more about this outbreak  we will know and want to change things  and alter courses, when and where it’s needed.”