Taking action

Severe Spruce Budworm Defoliation Hits In Northwest

Posted on by akabelowsky

By Linda Williams, DNR Forest Health Specialist, Woodruff; Linda.Williams@wisconsin.gov or 920-360-0665

Photo taken through magnifying lens of spruce budworm caterpillars.

Spruce budworm overwinters as tiny caterpillars (yellow arrow) that migrate to the buds before they start to swell in the spring. A magnifying lens is needed to see them at this stage. / Photo Credit: Linda Williams, Wisconsin DNR.

For the 11th consecutive year in Wisconsin, spruce budworm has caused significant defoliation on spruce, balsam fir and tamarack in some areas of the state.

This year, areas with widespread severe defoliation include Oneida and Vilas counties, with Forest, Iron, and Langlade counties also showing significant defoliation.

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White Pine Weevil Damage And Management Options

Posted on by akabelowsky

By Linda Williams, DNR Forest Health Specialist, Woodruff
Linda.Williams@wisconsin.gov or 920-360-0665

Photo of a white pine tree showing weevil damage.

A dead terminal leader, resulting from an attack by white pine weevil. Photo: Linda Williams, Wisconsin DNR.

White pine weevil (Pissodes strobi) is a native insect that can kill the terminal leader of white pine, jack pine and spruce. Wisconsinites often refer to this insect as Tip Weevil.

The insects prefer to attack stout terminal leaders. When the terminal leader dies, lateral branches grow upward and compete to take over apical dominance. This can leave a noticeable crook for decades. If two or more lateral branches take over, forking can occur. New terminal leaders may be attacked in subsequent years, causing more crook or forking.

Spruce and jack pine tend to recover better from weevil damage than white pine because the lateral branch that takes over apical dominance often creates a less prominent crook.

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DNR Silviculturists Create Podcast

Posted on by akabelowsky
Photo of goats grazing in a woodlot.

Grazing goats can reach as high as six feet to munch on leaves, which they prefer to grasses and stems. Photo: Wisconsin DNR.

Art Kabelowsky, DNR Forest Health outreach and communications specialist
Arthur.Kabelowsky@wisconsin.gov or 608-335-0167

“Who do you know wants to rent a goat?”

Milwaukee television viewers of a certain age might recognize that twist on the old commercial slogan of automobile dealer Ernie Von Schledorn: “Who do you know wants to buy a car?”

Although Ernie is no longer around, the idea of having foresters use goat grazing to control interfering vegetation remains in use.

It’s a discussion worth talking about — and listening to.

Goat grazing was the topic of a recent edition of SilviCast, a monthly podcast about silviculture produced as part of a collaborative effort between the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and the Wisconsin Forestry Center, based at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.

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DNR Staff Gets Tree Injection Training

Posted on by akabelowsky
Photo of a tree marked with a ribbon for pesticide/fungicide injection.
Photo of a worker demonstrating a tree injection nozzle.

Cory McCurry, an arborologist with Rainbow Ecoscience, talks with DNR Parks and Forest Health employees while demonstrating the use of a nozzle component of the Q-Connect tree injection system currently in use at state properties. Photo: Wisconsin DNR.

Art Kabelowsky, DNR Forest Health outreach and communications specialist
Arthur.Kabelowsky@wisconsin.gov or 608-335-0167

LAKE GENEVA, Wisconsin — Fifteen employees of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources gathered at Big Foot Beach State Park on May 16 to learn more about using injections of systemic pesticides to protect the health of high-value trees at state properties.

Ten Wisconsin State Parks employees and five members of the DNR’s Forest Health team met with representatives of Rainbow Ecoscience and Bartlett Tree Experts to witness a demonstration of best practices for tree injections.

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Document Trees Planted This Year

Posted on by patricialindquist

Dan Buckler, DNR Urban Forest Assessment Specialist, Milwaukee, daniel.buckler@wisconsin.gov or 608-445-4578

As there is every glorious spring, there has been a flurry of tree planting in Wisconsin. Each little tree, from seed to sapling, is a hope and prayer that we make for the future. But as each reader knows, that future might be many years away.

While you nurture these arboreal miracles, why not take a couple minutes to document the trees in the Wisconsin Tree Planting Map? The map was designed to help track trees planted to advance the state’s pledge to the Trillion Trees Initiative.

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USDA Biological Control Facility Seeks Ash Trees To Battle Emerald Ash Borer

Posted on by patricialindquist

Asks Landowners To Donate Infested Ash Trees

USDA staff cut a ‘bark window’ in green ash to uncover signs of emerald ash borer. Photo credit: USDA

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is asking Wisconsin landowners for their help. Emerald ash borer (EAB) is an invasive insect from Asia that was first introduced into the United States in 2002. Since its discovery, EAB has caused the death and decline of tens of millions of ash trees. USDA uses ash trees to combat the pest to help preserve and protect the tree species.

Wisconsin landowners have donated live, infested ash trees to USDA’s EAB biological control program. The wood is used to grow EAB’s natural enemies and release them in Wisconsin and 31 other infested States as well as D.C. where they are attacking and killing EAB. USDA needs more ash trees to continue this work and is hoping more Wisconsin residents will consider donating their ash trees this year.

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Photo Collage Of Arbor Day Celebrations

Posted on by patricialindquist

Scroll down to see how communities around the state celebrated Arbor Day in 2023!

Governor Tony Evers attended the village of Germantown’s Arbor Day celebration on Friday, April 28. Village Park and Recreation staff organized the event with help from Wendland Nursery and the Wisconsin DNR. In addition to village staff and leaders, there were approximately 35 elementary students in attendance, all part of the Kids Club (an after-school program at County Line School). DNR Urban Forestry Coordinator Olivia Witthun spoke with the students and presented the community with their 19th annual Tree City USA award. Olivia was assisted by DNR Forestry staff Mike Warnke and Kim Sebastian. The local nursery provided a planting demonstration and gave each student a plant or vegetable to go home with.

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Douglas County Joins Spongy Moth Quarantine

Posted on by akabelowsky
A spongy moth larva eats a leaf.

A spongy moth larva eats a leaf.

By Paul Cigan, DNR plant pest and disease specialist
Paul.Cigan@wisconsin.gov or 715-416-4920

In early April, Douglas County became the 53rd Wisconsin county added to the state’s spongy moth quarantine list after a discovery that the invasive insect (formerly known as gypsy moth) had become established in the county.

The United States Department of Agriculture-Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA-APHIS) and the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) made the determination based on results of a monitoring program of adult moths and other life stages.

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Prepare — Spongy Moth Caterpillars To Return

Posted on by akabelowsky

By Bill McNee, DNR Forest Health Specialist, Oshkosh
bill.mcnee@wisconsin.gov or 920-360-0942

Spongy moth caterpillars clustered below a sticky barrier.

Spongy moth caterpillars clustered below a sticky barrier. Photo: Mark Guthmiller, Wisconsin DNR

This June and July, spongy moth populations are predicted to reach damaging levels in parts of Wisconsin. Populations began to rise in 2020, and this is likely to be the third year of the pest outbreak in some regions of southern Wisconsin.

At present, damaging populations are expected to be most noticeable in southern counties, counties to the north of the city of Green Bay, and in far northern Wisconsin near Lake Superior. Additional areas are likely to have high populations that are more concentrated in size.

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Tips For Arbor Day 2023

Posted on by patricialindquist

This year, Arbor Day will be observed in Wisconsin on Friday, April 28. Please see below for some tips for planning your own celebration.

Add Your Event To A Compilation Of Arbor Day Celebrations Nationwide

Spread the word about your celebration by adding your event to this Arbor Day Foundation webpage. Use this link to submit the details of your event.

Contribute To Wisconsin’s Trillion Trees Pledge

Encourage landowners and homeowners to contribute to Wisconsin’s Trillion Tree Pledge with a goal of planting 1 million trees in Wisconsin’s cities and villages by 2030. Record the trees you plant on Wisconsin’s Tree Planting Map!

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