Book Description

From 1948 to 1952 a light to medium spruce budworm infestation occurred in the spruce-fir forests of northern Maine. During this period both the degree of infestation and the acreage affected fluctuated considerably, but the population remained below the damage level. In 1953 there was a general reduction in budworm population in all portions of northern Maine except a relatively small area of same 20,000 acres near Madawaska Lake. Here a marked increase in infestation occurred. Because of possible damage to trees on this area and the hazard of spread to adjacent areas, this tract was sprayed in the spring of 1954. Meanwhile a very severe outbreak over an area of several thousand square miles in the nearby Province of New Brunswick has become a serious threat to the spruce-fir forests of Maine.