Invasive Forest Pests

In 2016, Maine Soil & Water Conservation Districts received a grant from the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry (DACF) to present programs for the Invasive Forest Pest Outreach Project – as well as displays at fairs and other events – in 12 priority counties: Androscoggin/Sagadahoc, Cumberland, Hancock, Kennebec, Knox/Lincoln, Franklin, Oxford, Somerset, Waldo and York. The outreach has since been expanded to cover the entire state.

The following activities are covered under the grant and are available to you.

Workshops, trainings, and/or walk & talks targeted at local landowners and forest professionals throughout the state in conjunction, when possible, with Invasive Species and/or EAB awareness weeks. – Public Service Announcements will be provided to radio and news outlets in advance of these events to generate greater awareness of the threats to our forests and woodlots from invasive forest pests. (Also, Facebook posts, websites, local papers, etc)
Invasive species displays at local events and fairs
Municipal outreach through the Maine Municipal Association (MMA) and local municipal associations for municipal officials, public works department personnel and other local government officials through prepared folders and/or regional meetings to provide strategies and draft management plans to address invasive forest pests in their communities.
Invasive Forest Pest Information Packets (to be made available at district events/offices) will be produced in all 16 conservation districts in Maine to significantly expand statewide outreach throughout the year.

For more information or to schedule a presentation or event in your area, please contact your local Soil & Water Conservation District Office.

Field Trip to Concord, NH

In October of 2017 members from several Maine Soil & Water Conservation Districts traveled to the area around Concord, New Hampshire to see the damage done by Emerald Ash Borer. We first toured a shopping mall in the downtown area whose perimeter had been planted with Ash trees- all were damaged and dying (image 1 & 2). We then visited some other areas where the EAB pupa was readily in evidence after being scraped with a draw shave (image 3). The impact on the community was certainly in the hundreds of thousands of dollars but the loss of the Ash goes way beyond the dollars lost. This was a sobering, eye-opening view of the damage done by one small forest pest.