The Maine Forest Service hosts webinars the third Friday of every month. These are listed on our Calendar of Events.
Forestry Friday Input Opportunity
The Maine Forest Service would like your input on how we can improve our webinar program, currently called Forestry Friday.
Please take a moment to let us know what you think.
Presenter: Kent Nelson, MFS's Forest Ranger Specialist
He discusses ways you can reduce the likelihood of wildfires from occurring on your woodlot and near your homes. There are things you can do that will also help the responding fire department / Forest Rangers in the event of a wildfire.
May 20, 2022: Tree Planting and Mycorrhizal Fungi - How to Best Improve Soil Organisms for Shade Tree Vigor
Presenter: Anne Pringle, Ph.D., L&S Mary Herman Rubinstein and Vilas Distinguished Achievement Professor of Botany, University of Wisconsin.
Dr. Pringle discusses the importance of mycorrhizal fungi to tree vigor, if store purchased soil additives really work, soil transplants and invasive fungi. Dr. Pringle will highlight experiments trying to identify ways to improve urban and shade tree vigor.
Presenter: Cameron McIntire, Plant Pathologist with the USDA Forest Service in Durham, NH and Aaron Berghdal, Plant Pathologist with the Maine Forest Service, Forest Health and Monitoring Division.
Mr. McIntire and Mr. Berghdal provide updates on the current situation of Beech Leaf Disease in Maine.
July 15, 2022: Maine's Wildfire Weather Program
Presenters: Regional Forest Ranger Joe Mints and Forest Ranger Dan Perkins
Rangers Mints and Perkins highlight Maine Forest Service's fire weather program and how predictive services are used for wildfire potential. They also provide a behind the scenes look at what goes into delivering a fire danger classification, how a fire danger classification impacts fire response, and what weather factors influence fire spread.
September 9, 2022: Overview of Winter Moth Biological Control
Presenter: Dr. Joe Elkinton, University of Massachusetts - Amherst.
Dr. Elkinton will provide an overview of current efforts to understand and promote biological control of winter moth (Operophtera brumata). Winter moth is an invasive moth species causing coastal hardwood tree and forest damage and mortality in Maine. For more than a decade it caused more extensive impacts in eastern Massachusetts, eventually spreading to Rhode Island and Connecticut. In those states, winter moth is now largely under control thanks to natural enemies and the work of the Elkinton Lab and their cooperators.
October 21, 2022: Christmas tree and wreath brush laws, guide to harvesting trees and brush properly
Presenters: Maine Forest Service Ranger Sergeant Ben Goodwin
Sergeant Goodwin presents information about wreath brush management and laws in Maine.
November 18, 2022: Maine’s Forest Inventory - Past, Present, and Future
Presenters: Maine Forest Service Biometrician, Jereme Frank
Jereme describes Maine’s Forest Inventory System and the USDA Forest Service Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) Database. He will also present results from a recent analysis which examine Maine’s past forest inventory, recent trends, and future projections.
December 16, 2022: Hemlock Woolly Adelgid IPM in Maine – What’s Involved
Presenters: Maine Forest Service Entomologist, Colleen Teerling
Colleen presented information about managing hemlock woolly adelgid, an invasive pest that is spreading and killing trees in Maine. Topics also included integrated pest management strategies and what they can and cannot do to protect hemlocks in your forest (as well as more urban settings).
January 19, 2023: Prevention of Logging Vandalism and Theft
Presenters: Maine Forest Service Forest Rangers
Forest rangers from the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry – Maine Forest Service presented an interactive webinar discussing best practices for loggers, landowners and land managers in the prevention of logging vandalism and theft. The Maine Forest Service and other law enforcement agencies across Maine have seen an increase in the theft of fuel and tools from logging operations recently, and the Maine Forest Service is a partner in the prevention and investigation of these crimes.
March 24, 2023: A Review of Recent Spruce Budworm Activity in Maine
Presenters: Maine Forest Service Entomologist Mike Parisio
Mike discusses the results of Maine's various spruce budworm (SBW) population monitoring activities over the last four monitoring seasons spanning from 2019-2022. Topics covered include SBW monitoring through pheromone trapping, light trapping, aerial and ground defoliation surveys, overwintering larval surveys, and touch on management activities by private landowners in recent years.
