On June 1, the Society for the Protection of Forests from Insects and Diseases (SOPFIM) in the Forestville sector began helicopter spraying of biological insecticides on public and private forests infested with Spruce Budworm (TBE).
Spraying should also start in all other sectors planned for the 2023 forest protection program in the coming days.
“If weather conditions continue to be favourable, operations in all target regions of the program will be closed at the end of June or beginning of July,” confirms Communications and Marketing Manager Kristel Alain.
These treatments are part of the 2023 program aimed at keeping infested forests healthy during the SBW epidemic. Only the biological insecticide Bacillus thuringiensis of the kurstaki variety (Btk) is used for this purpose.
“Numerous scientific studies have shown that Btk is safe for both human and animal health, vegetation and the environment. In addition, it is approved by Health Canada,” says the SOPFIM spokesman.
26,132 acres on the North Shore
Recall that this program covers just over 471,758 hectares (ha) of forest infested with SBW, spanning the Côte-Nord (26,132 ha), Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean (127,527 ha), the Capitale- Nationale (23,241 ha) and Bas-Saint-Laurent (34,027 ha), Gaspésie (148,484 ha), Abitibi-Témiscamingue (111,064 ha) and in the Chaudière-Appalaches region (1,283 ha).
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