Media Releases

Amherst hosting Atlantic Canada Forest Health Workshop

Some of Atlantic Canada’s top researchers will be in Amherst to discuss the health of the region’s forests during an Atlantic Canada Forest Health Workshop that begins on Jan. 16.

“The workshop, while directed at federal, provincial and municipal foresters, is free and open to anyone. It is a forum in which the forest health issues of concern to the Atlantic Provinces are addressed,” Chelsea Baird, a horticulturist for the Town of Amherst and a presenter at the workshop, said.

The information presented during the workshop “is vital to helping us develop best management practices so that we can create more sustainable and healthy forests,” Baird said.

The workshop will focus on invasive pests with research data from the Atlantic Provinces natural resources departments, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Natural Resources Canada-Canadian Forest Service and the Maine Forest Service being presented.

Among those making presentations are: Ron Neville of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Celia Boone of the Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources, Drew Carleton of the New Brunswick Energy and Resources Department, Dan Lavigne of the Newfoundland and Labrador Forestry and Agrifood Agency, and David Carmichael of the P.E.I. Communities Land and Environment Department.

Colleen Teerling of the Maine Forest Service will also provide an update on what is happening with invasive pests in that state.

“Knowing what is happening in Maine is important because it lets us know what could be headed our way,” Baird said.

The workshop will also discuss the research underway in Atlantic Canada including the investigation on invasive pests in Kouchibouguac National Park, the efficacy of TreeAzin stem injection for control of the European beech leaf-mining weevil and the risk mitigation strategy for the brown spruce longhorn beetle.

The P.E.I. invasive species nature tracker project and the presence of ticks in Atlantic Canadian forests will also be discussed at the workshop that ends on Jan. 18. In addition, presentations will be made on the growing spruce budworm buildup in the Gaspe region and northern New Brunswick, the anticipated arrival of the emerald ash borer in Atlantic Canada, the discovery of hemlock wooly adelgid in southwestern Nova Scotia and how municipalities have been dealing with Dutch elm disease.

The three-day event, hosted by the Town of Amherst, is being held at the Community Credit Union Business Innovation Centre on Ratchford St.

“The Town of Amherst is proud to host this workshop, an annual event put on by the Atlantic Advisory Committee for Introduced Forest Pests,” Baird said.