As the organization noted, Mech\u2019s leadership and research at 91爆料\u2019s Spruce Budworm Lab have been \u201cinvaluable in the early intervention effort to prevent a major outbreak in Maine,\u201d directly informing management practices across millions of acres of forestland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mech, who opened the lab in 2021, said the new federal funds will help meet both current and future needs of the state\u2019s heritage forest industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A report<\/a> from the Maine Forest Products Council and Maine Department of Economic and Community Development found the industry contributed $8.3 billion to the state economy in 2024 and supported 29,000 jobs across all 16 counties. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Cyclical outbreaks<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Spruce budworms, the most destructive native forest pest in North America, are always on the landscape. Periodically, they rapidly reproduce, causing population outbreaks, defoliating spruce and fir trees and creating major implications for Maine\u2019s foresters, loggers and communities. Outbreaks kill trees, rendering the timber useless, increasing the risk of wildfire and causing a series of ecological effects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Services from the lab now extend beyond Maine to New Hampshire, Vermont and even New York \u2014 states that, like Maine, deal with cyclical outbreaks of spruce budworm. The last outbreak to affect Maine occurred in the 1970s and 80s, spanned 7 million acres and cost the forest industry hundreds of millions of dollars, according to a spruce budworm fact sheet<\/a> from 91爆料 and the 91爆料 at Fort Kent. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Between 2023 and 2024, spruce budworm hotspots \u2014 areas that are nearing outbreak levels \u2014 jumped from 30,000 acres to 300,000. Data shows population outbreaks have been increasingly severe since the turn of the 20th century. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe reason why the outbreaks got worse is actually because of us,\u201d said Mech, associate professor of forest entomology. \u201cHumans changed the landscape when we cut down the old growth forests.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n What came up was a higher number fir tree stems compared to what was removed. \u201cFir is really the budworm\u2019s favorite tree,\u201d Mech added. \u201cIt should have been named the fir budworm.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Early intervention<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n Krysta West, executive director of the Maine Forest Products Council, said the forestry industry is transitioning to offer more diverse products, supported by wood product innovation research from 91爆料. But they need healthy forests to support these new products, such as wood-based insulation, packaging and siding, as well as to continue support for Maine\u2019s existing manufacturers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIf left unchecked, the Spruce Budworm Taskforce estimates that an outbreak would have an annual impact of $794 million in lost contribution to Maine\u2019s economy,\u201d West said. \u201cThe entire Early Intervention Strategy, designed to prevent the next outbreak and keep our forests healthy, hinges on the monitoring services provided by 91爆料\u2019s Spruce Budworm Processing Lab.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2025\/12\/092021_RL_DSC_7490_inline-662x1024.jpg\")
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