HARRISBURG – Pennsylvania Game Commission officials announced the scheduled gypsy moth spraying of 42,731 acres of its more than 1.4 million acre State Game Lands system has been completed. The spraying began in late April and concluded on May 28.
The Game Commission paid $1,349,993.58 out of its Growing Greener II funding to the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, which oversees the Statewide Cooperative Spray Program for gypsy moths, to spray portions of 38 different SGLs.
“In the summer of 2007, a statewide inventory of gypsy moth impacts on SGLs identified defoliation on more than 93,000 acres,” said William Capouillez, Bureau of Wildlife Habitat Management director. “To prioritize and focus spraying efforts, we looked at a series of factors, including: the importance of oaks on a particular SGL; socio-political impacts of each SGL; whether there were existing Important Bird Areas, Important Mammal Areas or critical/unique habitats on the SGL; past gypsy moth impacts and resulting forest habitat conditions; and financial values of timber stands.”
From this point, the agency identified the 42,731 acres in most critical need of treatment to prevent similar defoliation or loss due to the expected gypsy moth hatch this year. Based on the data, all spraying occurred in the Northcentral (5,970 acres), Southcentral (27,818 acres), Northeast (1,116 acres) and Southeast (7,827 acres) regions. The Northwest and Southwest regions, which suffered little to no gypsy moth defoliation, were not sprayed at this time.
“While the agency has been conducting limited gypsy moth spraying to target high value areas over the past 10 years, we have not had a statewide outbreak of this severity since the late 1990s,” Capouillez said. “From 1984 to 1991, the agency was engaged in a large-scale salvage operation from the last gypsy moth outbreak. In that eight-year period, for example, the Southcentral Region averaged almost 3,000 acres per year of salvage harvests, as opposed to their target goal of 1,200 acres of forest habitat improvements per year today.
“This rate of harvest had many impacts on the Game Commission’s Forest Management and Wildlife Habitat program, both positive and negative. While the short-term increase in revenue was viewed as a positive, it also was seen as a negative as it will impact long-term timber management and, consequently, future timber revenues, and it created artificial expectations for many about funding the agency through timber revenues.”
Capouillez noted that, more significantly, the previous gypsy moth impacts enabled a rapid transition of forest habitat types on SGL from mixed oak to birch and maple, which is viewed as a negative in terms of being a detriment to wildlife.
“In the 1940s, after the chestnut blight nearly wiped out American chestnuts, which provided the best and most reliable wildlife foods, oaks filled the void for wildlife,” Capouillez said. “Unfortunately, in some areas, we now are seeing birch and maple replace the oak stands lost to gypsy moth defoliation.
“Prior to gypsy moth impacts, oak trees in Huntingdon County reportedly were producing 173 pounds of acorns per acre. After gypsy moths, the same areas were seeing only 67 pounds of acorns per acre. Seven of the eight lowest acorn production years occurred after gypsy moths hit the area, and 43 percent of oak trees were lost.”
Capouillez noted that, based on the value of SGL oaks for wildlife, the agency simply can’t afford not to invest in spraying this year.
“We know that mixed oak habitats are important for all wildlife,” Capouillez said. “Squirrel populations fluctuate with acorn crops. If acorn production is low, bears will den earlier, weigh less, produce fewer and smaller cubs and get into more nuisance situations. Deer over-winter survival and reproduction suffers when acorns are sparse. Neo-tropical birds, such as cerulean warblers, only occupy habitats dominated by oaks. Wild turkey and ruffed grouse populations also depend on acorns.”
For more information on the SGLs that were sprayed, please see “Release #042-08” in the “News Release” section of the agency’s Web site.