Month: February 2016

Join us for the 1st edition of the 2016 FOCI webinar series, “Treating Firewood is a Hot Topic: seasoning, solarizing, kiln drying, and heat treatment” on February 25th, 2016 at 1pm Eastern. We will be discussing the various effective (and potentially ineffective) ways that firewood is treated in order to prevent the spread of forest pests. This webinar is held in coordination with NISAW 2016. We will bring in several experts to talk about their knowledge area within the realm of treating firewood, including:

• Denise Haffner, USDA APHIS PPQ
• Katy Longen, Minnesota Dept of Agriculture
• Tyson Emery, Florida Dept of Agriculture and Consumer Services
• Tom Coleman, US Forest Service

UPDATE: Thank you to the 75 attendees of the webinar for excellent questions and your attention. You can now view the webinar recording on YouTube – click here: Treating Firewood is a Hot Topic.

 

Guest blog by Cami Cannon, Publication Assistant at USU Cooperative Extension Utah Pests

Although Utah is known more for its red rock than for its forests, a third of the state is covered with over 15 million acres of beloved trees. From the Ponderosa pines scattered through Bryce Canyon National Park to the lodgepole pine forests of the Uintas, there are millions of trees that provide critical benefits and are loved by tourists and locals alike. Therefore, the state of Utah is eager to prevent invasive insects and diseases from attacking forested areas. The most concerning pests for Utah’s natural and urban forests are the emerald ash borer, spongy moth, and Asian longhorned beetle.

The Utah Plant Pest Diagnostic Lab (UPPDL) at Utah State University conducts workshops on invasive species, targeting forestry and industry personnel. This spring, they are also in the process of creating a First Detector program for Utah, targeting Master Gardeners and extension staff, and hope to include (in the future) volunteer activities to assist with their prevention and detection efforts. As part of this program, a user friendly First Detector Guide will be published to help spread the word. The guide will provide information on detection, biology of species, methods of prevention, and contact resources in case new invasive species are suspected. In addition, eye-catching posters, pamphlets and door hangers describing invasive pests and the threat that they pose to Utah’s agricultural and natural resources, along with posters about proper firewood practices provided by the Don’t Move Firewood campaign, are being designed and will be disseminated to all interested parties.

        

Click on the thumbnails to open their description and download a PDF of the custom Utah version of these Don’t Move Firewood materials

The UPPDL works in close collaboration with the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food, who conducts surveys for exotic wood-borers and Asian defoliators (including spongy moth), and conduct several outreach programs of their own. Many thanks to our partners for their hard work this year.