Forest Health Protection in South Central Alaska 2015 …North Pacific Landscape Conservative Cooperative Webinar, 8 April 2015. Reich, R.M.. 2015. Influence of Forest Stand Structure

Forest Health Protectionin South Central Alaska

2015 Highlights

J.E. LundquistSteve SwensonGarret Dubois

Garret Dubois

Steve Swenson

Bryon Box

The South Central Crew

Bordered by Alaska Range to Prince William Sound and Kodiak Island…. Aleutians?

Where is the South Central Zone?

Most populatedLots of towns/villagesLots of roadsArms length inspections

Intersection of marine coastal forests with the boreal forest

DiversityTopographyVegetationClimatic zonesCommunities

Autumnal moth (Epirrita unduata)

Bruce spanworm (Operophtera bruceata )

Some major insect pests of the last decade in SC Alaska

A. Technical Assistance

B. Treatment

C. Survey and Monitoring

D. Technology and Development

SC Entomology Program of Work

A.1. Technical Assistance -- The Capitol Christmas Tree

With AK DOF and AK DOA

Lots of visibility for Chugach National Forest!

Special website

Special truck

Climate Change Vulnerability Committee

A.2. Technical Assistance -- Chugach NF Forest Plan Revision

Photo credits -- U of Alaska Library

Photo credits -- Gary Brassch

1976

2006

A.3. Technical Assistance -- Western Bark Beetle Initiative Program

Hans Rinke AK DOF grant recipient

Upper Tanana Windstorm Disaster $69,200 AK DOF

Spruce Beetle Protection $3,463 Chugachmiut

Manchu Road Thinning $120,000 Salcha Delta

AK Yellow Cedar Decline Impact

Assessment and Restoration Baseline

$39,000 UAS

Cohoe Spruce Beetle Restoration $42,000 AK DOF

Haines State Forest Bark Beetle

Prevention

$24,500 AK DOF

Tok River Forest Ips Beetle Prevention. $13000 AF DOF+

Purpose: to treat forested areas damaged or threatened by bark beetles for prevention, suppression, and/or restoration.

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

$465623

$290891

$412000

$596800

$368463

$210050

$116600

$207349

$167320$153000

$341000$311163

Western Bark Beetle Initiative -- Total Funding per Year

With Alaska Botanical Garden and UAF CESForest Health Kiosk

A.4. Technical Assistance -- Forest Health Trail at the Alaska Botanical Gardens

A. Technical Assistance

B. Treatment

C. Survey and Monitoring

D. Technology and Development

SC Entomology Program of Work

Adds and changes the existing Healthy Forest Restoration Act.

Designating I&D landscape scale areas and new NEPA provisions. Criteria were: 1) risk; 2) decline in forest health; or 3) hazard trees.]

Projects must reduce the risk or extent of, or increase the resilience to, insect or disease infestation in designated landscape area.

B.1. Forest Health Treatment Area

With AK DOF

Two Areas of Alaska were proposed by the Governor of Alaska and accepted by Chief of Forest Service in May 2014 as a result of the spruce bark beetle epidemic (Kenai Peninsula) and continued Yellow-cedar decline (SE Alaska).

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

1600

IPS AMB SBB WB

2009

2010

2011

Aerial Pest Detection Surveys 2010 --2011

Latitudinal Transect plots 2009 -- 2011

A. Technical Assistance

B. Treatment

C. Survey and Monitoring

D. Technology Development

SC Entomology Program of Work

C.1. Survey and Monitoring -- Spruce aphid on the Kenai

Apparently, a significant spread

New Reports

C.1. Survey and Monitoring -- Spruce aphid on the Kenai

2007

2015

Halibut Cove

… at Mossy Kilcher’s place.

Found spruce aphid in Homer…

Pest Alert

C.2. Survey/Monitoring. Amber-marked birch leaf miner to SC Alaska.

0

46%

40%

25%

21%

24%

19%

15%

4%2%

1%

Year 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Severity (% of leaves with injury)

2007

Cyndi Snyder’s Survey Results

C.3. Survey/Monitoring. General insect pests surveys. Trip Reports

Capitol Christmas Tree Inspection - Trip Report John E. Lundquist, Jason Moan, Garret Dubois, Steve Swenson

Deformed Spruce Foliage in Soldotna and Homer – Trip Report

Garret Dubois, John E. Lundquist and Bryan Box

Forest Health Observations along Lake Klutina Trail Trip Report John Lundquist and Garret Dubois

Ground-Truthing along Glenn Highway and Upper Copper River Valley Road Systems, the Mat-Su Valley and along Kenai Road Systems Steve Swenson and Garret Dubois

Leaf Rollers on the Central Kenai Peninsula 2015 Trip Report J.E. Lundquist

McCarthy, Slana and Squirrel Creek: Birch Thinning and Cottonwood Decline Trip Report Steve Swenson and Garret Dubois

Mid-June Kenai Trip Report Steve Swenson

Palmer Creek Road Trip Report Steve Swenson and Garret Dubois

Richardson Highway from Valdez to Tok – Forest Health Survey Trip Report Garret Dubois and John Lundquist

Spruce Aphid on the Kenai Peninsula - Trip Report John E. Lundquist1, Jason Moan2, Matt Bowser3, Garret Dubois1, and Jennifer Archis

Sterling Highway Cooper Landing to Nikiski Profenusa thomsoni Survey Trip Report Bryan Box, Garret DuBois, John Lundquist, and Bill Davidson

South Central Trip Reports -- 2015

A. Technical Assistance

B. Treatment

C. Survey and Monitoring

D. Technology Development

SC Entomology Program of Work

Spruce beetles outbreak of 1990s stopped just shortof Sitka spruce forests near Port Graham

D.1. Technology Development – Port Graham Climate Change Grant Proposal

Objective: To develop risk maps for predicting spruce beetle spread into Sitka spruce forest near Port Graham and Nanwalek.

D.1. Technology Development -- Chugachmiut Climate Change Grant Proposal

D.2. Technology Development – Blueberries and Defoliators

Reich, R.M., N. Lojewski, V.A Bravo, and J.E. Lundquist. 2016. Influence of Forest Stand Structure on the Abundance and Productivity of Blueberry Plants in the Chugach Region of Alaska. Journal of Forestry (in preparation).

Stand structure

influences abundance of

blueberry plants

Blueberry fruit

productivity not strictly

related to plant

abundance

Fruit productivity maps

not distributed by the

tribe

Blueberry productivity predictive models

Precipitation Zone

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Precipitation Zone

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D.3. Technology Development – Environmental Mismatching

Reich, R.M., J.E. Lundquist, and K. Hughes. 2015. Host-environment mismatches associated with subalpine fir decline in Colorado. Journal of Forestry Research (in press).

Optimal distribution of aspen forests in Alaska

Optimal distribution

of spruce forests in

Alaska.

UninfestedAspen stands

Infested with aspen leaf miner

UninfestedSpruce stands

Infested with spruce beetles

Warong Suksavate (Ph.D) Landscape dynamics of Spruce beetle in high Elevation forests

Kristina Hughes (MS)Etiology of subalpine fir decline

With Colorado State University

D.4. Technology Development –University collaborators/affiliations

Anh Quang Ha (Ph.D)Sampling Strategies for Forest Aerial Detection Surveys in Colorado.

Ha, Anh Quang. 2015. Sampling strategies for forest aerial detection surveys in

Colorado. Ph.D Dissertation, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO. 192 p.

Ha, Anh Quang. 2015. Sampling strategies for forest aerial detection surveys in Colorado. Ph.D Dissertation, Colorado

State University, Fort Collins, CO. 192 p.

Reich, R.M., A. Ha, J.E. Lundquist, and D. Rideout. Optimal sampling strategies for aerial detection surveys using

economic loss plus cost analysis. Can. Jnl. For. Res. (in preparation).

Hollingsworth, T., T. Barrett, E. Bella, M. Berman, M. Carlson, R.L. DeVelice, G. Hayward, J. E. Lundquist, D. Magness, T.

Schworer. 2015. Chapter 6: Historic, current, and future vegetation distribution in the Chugach National Forest and

Kenai Peninsula. In: G. Hayward et al. Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment-- Chugach National Forest. Pacific

Northwest Research Station, Corvallis, OR. General Technical Report (in review).

Lojewski, N., J.E. Lundquist, and R.M. Reich. 2015. Chugachmiut Climate Change Grant Proposal (RFP Title: BIA Forest

Climate Change and Geospatial Capacity. (funded for 2016-17). Successfully funded at $99,000.

Lojewski, N, R. Reich, and J.Lundquist. 2014. Berry risk mapping and modeling of native and exotic defoliators in

Alaska. Climate, Conservation, and Community in Alaska and Northwest Canada conference, Anchorage, Alaska,

November 4 – 6, 2014. (Oral Presentation)

Lojewski, N. 2015. Berry Risk Mapping and Modeling of Native & Exotic Defoliators in Alaska. North Pacific Landscape

Conservative Cooperative Webinar, 8 April 2015.

Reich, R.M.. 2015. Influence of Forest Stand Structure on the Abundance and Productivity of Blueberry plants in the

Chugach Region of Alaska: A Spatial Analysis. Unpublished Final Report.

Reich, R.M., N. Lojewski, V.A Bravo, and J.E. Lundquist. 2016. Influence of Forest Stand Structure on the Abundance

and Productivity of Blueberry Plants in the Chugach Region of Alaska.. Journal of Forestry (in preparation).

Reich, R.M., J.E. Lundquist, and K. Hughes. 2015. Host-environment mismatches associated with subalpine fir decline in Colorado. Journal of Forestry Research (in press).

South Central Tech Development Products -- 2015

“Boots on the ground” Field Visit Distribution -- 2015

A. Technical Assistance

• Capitol Christmas Tree pest inspection

• Assist Chugach NF Forest Plan revision -- Climate Change Vulnerability Committee

• Faculty affiliations, student advisory committees

• Forest Health Trail at AK Botanical Gardens

• Assist cooperators prepare grant proposals Chugachmiut Native Assoc. -- Port Graham

• Manage Western BB Initiative Grants & DOF CPG

B. Treatment

• Forest Health Treatment Area

C. Survey and Monitoring

• Spruce aphid on the Kenai

• Amber marked birch leaf miner in the Matsu/Kenai

• General health surveys; trip reports

D. Technology and Development

• Modeling blueberries to avoid defoliator impacts on productivity

• Environmental mismatching and risk spruce beetles and aspen leaf miner

• Optimal aerial sampling

Summary