New publication about eastern white pine management available

Researchers in the Maine Agricultural and Forest Experiment Station and colleagues from neighboring institutions recently published a report called “Field Manual for Managing Eastern White Pine Health in New England.”

Eastern white pine is often referred to as “the tree that built America,” and has been used in boatbuilding and home construction for centuries. Today, conservative estimates of the value of white pine trees in Maine’s forests exceed $2 billion; Maine mills annually pay $40 million for eastern white pine logs.

“This ecologically and economically important tree species has been plagued with health issues. Researchers have found that managing white pine at low densities not only improves the quality and value of the timber, but improves the health of the trees,” said Laura Kenefic, one of the report’s authors who leads the U.S. Forest Service Northern Research Station.

“This win-win solution is highlighted in a new user-friendly field guide for landowners and foresters.”

The manual provides readers guidance for identifying and evaluating important health problems of eastern white pine in New England, including white pine weevil, blister rust, bast scale, and needle damage, Caliciopsis canker, and red rot or red-ring rot.

The manual also outlines silvicultural practices that can reduce risks of health problems, and improve productivity and quality of eastern white pine at various stages of stand management.

In addition to being a resource for forest managers, the field manual can help woodland owners understand the risks to eastern white pine health and help justify the use of forest management.  

The report authors are: William Livingston, UMaine School of Forest Resources; Isabel Munck, Northeastern Area State and Private Forestry of the USDA Forest Service; Kyle Lombard and Jennifer Weimer, New Hampshire Division of Forests and Lands; Aaron Bergdahl, Maine Forest Service; Laura Kenefic, Northern Research Station of the USDA Forest Service; Barbara Schultz, Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation; and Robert Seymour, UMaine School of Forest Resources (emeritus).

To download a copy, visit the Maine Agricultural and Forest Experiment Station’s miscellaneous publications collection.

Contact: William Livingston, williaml@maine.edu