Sweetman and Lynch (1993) found that outbreaks of western
spruce budworm tended to be associated with periods of higher precipitation.
It will require extensive study at the genomic and proteomic (study of proteins) level between the
spruce budworm, its viral parasites and plants it feeds on.
First created by CFS, the
Spruce Budworm Decision Support System allows forest managers to anticipate losses from pests and determine expected growth patterns by taking a forest map and inputting the tree species, age class and overlaying its vulnerability to the insect.
A typical example is, as already mentioned, the collective action of the complicated network of natural enemies on
spruce budworm during its feeding stage.
One of the interesting things about the
spruce budworm, said Averill, is the random way it moves from place to place.
Third, the effects of
spruce budworm on trees during the study period were variable.
For example, the
spruce budworm has so damaged Maine's fir resource that it will take years to heal.
He lives within 30 miles of what everyone calls "the college grant." Because in past decades the
spruce budworm forced massive salvage cutting of softwoods, the Dartmouth plan currently emphasizes hardwood harvesting and the establishment of new softwood stands.
Then when the
spruce budworm hit he was forced to clearcut, salvaging what he could.
This Yankee wilderness is no stranger to the logger's clearcuts, or to the forester's fights with invading hardwoods, or to skyborne attacks against the
spruce budworm. It has been shaped and directed by man.
Nova Scotia environmentalists discussed in Chapter 3 effectively used political pressure tactics to raise their concerns about the issue of aerial spraying forests to try to reduce
spruce budworm. Although foresters themselves were divided, the government allied with the industry, which wanted to spray.
Fitch also questioned certain government initiatives, such as the privatization of cleaning and food services within the health care system, the Tuition Access Bursary program's lack of a sliding scale, and the
spruce budworm forest protection investment after cuts to silviculture.
