Hemlock looper forcast down for 1997

Beaton Tulk, Minister of Forest Resources and Agrifoods, is pleased to announce a significant reduction in the forecast for hemlock looper infestation for 1997. "We now have the results of the annual insect survey which indicate a dramatic reduction in the hemlock looper population," said the minister. "This decline can be attributed to a combination of an effective insect control program and the success of a natural enemy, a fungal disease, that affects the late larval stage of the looper."

Over the past few years, hemlock looper infestation increased in western Newfoundland. Insect control programs, which treat only a portion of the total area infested by insects, increased from approximately 11,000 hectares of treatment in 1994 to 48,000 hectares in 1995, and 69,000 hectares in 1996. For 1996, the Department of Forest Resources and Agrifoods and the pulp and paper industry spent approximately $3.75 million on hemlock looper control, of which 25 per cent was contributed by the province. The hemlock looper defoliation forecast for 1997 is only 26,000 hectares in the moderate to severe category, as compared to 189,000 hectares in 1996.

The spruce budworm continues to remain at endemic levels, that is, no significant defoliation has been detected for the past few years. However, the 1997 forecast for balsam fir sawfly indicates an increase in defoliation to approximately 54,000 hectares in the moderate to severe category. Infestation of this insect first became noticeable in western Newfoundland in 1991. However, this recent increase in infestation levels occurred between 1995 and 1996; therefore, the department will focus on solutions to this particular insect in 1997.

"The overall forest insect forecast for 1997 is much lower than in recent years," said the minister. "And, in keeping with my department's commitment to keeping the public informed, my staff are hosting an information session in Corner Brook on February 5."

A public information session, co-hosted by the Department of Forest Resources and Agrifoods and the two pulp and paper companies, Corner Brook Pulp and Paper Limited,and Abitibi-Price will be held at the Library Building at Sir Wilfred Grenfell College (Room LC301) at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, February 5. The agenda includes a review of the 1996 Insect Control program, results of experimental trials with new insecticide formulation, and the results of the fall defoliation surveys and the 1997 insect forecast.

Contact: Hubert Crummey, (709) 637-2424, or Anna Buffinga, (709) 729- 3750.