Sept. 2, 2011, Ottawa – The Canadian Food
Inspection Agency (CFIA) has confirmed the presence of the brown spruce
longhorn beetle (BSLB) near a campground within Kouchibouguac National Park
in New Brunswick. This is the first find of BSLB in New Brunswick and the first
outside of Nova Scotia.
It is suspected that the pest was
transported to New Brunswick on firewood. This new find is nearly 165 km away
from the closest positive BSLB site located in Westchester Station, Nova
Scotia.
Materials that could spread the beetle will
be restricted from moving in and out of a minimum 1-km area surrounding the
find-site in the park. Restricted materials will include spruce logs (including
spruce firewood), bark, and wood chips (larger than 4 cm). Further restrictions
may be required.
Although BSLB does not pose a risk to human
health, it is a highly destructive beetle. Since its discovery in 1999 in Point
Pleasant Park in Halifax, it has killed thousands of spruce trees in Nova
Scotia and poses an economic and environmental threat to urban and forested
areas of North America. Until now, the only location for the pest in North
America was in Nova Scotia. The pest has the potential to spread through the
spruce forests of North America.
The most important way to limit the spread
of this invasive beetle is to avoid transporting spruce materials such as
spruce firewood. Firewood should be bought locally, burned on-site, and never
transported. In June 2008, the CFIA launched an ongoing “Don't Move Firewood”
awareness campaign in an effort to slow the spread of invasive pests. We all
share the responsibility to help protect Canada's forests.
"The CFIA is committed to working
closely with other federal departments and agencies, provincial and municipal
governments, and industry towards slowing the spread of BSLB," says CFIA
president George Da Pont.
See also:
Invasive beetle could cause problems
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