Forest Health

Every phase of forest development involves forest health, including the proper establishment of appropriate, healthy trees on productive sites; cultural practices that favor vigorous growth of the best trees; reduction of losses to pest organisms; and well planned, careful harvesting that protects standing trees from injury and maintains the integrity of riparian areas. Learn more about the Forest Health Program.

Tree and Forest Health Guide

• This primer covers common insect and disease problems found in Virginia trees.
  • Introduction
  • Guidelines for Promoting Tree and Forest Health
  • Diagnosing Tree Problems
  • Making Recommendations
  • Tree Problems: Diagnosis and Treatment
• Tree Disease and Insect Guide: Conifers
• Tree Disease and Insect Guide: Hardwood

Pine Bark Beetles

• Cost-share Program: Pine Bark Beetle Prevention
• Protect Your Pine Forest - Bark Beetle Cost-share Options for Landowners. (English; PDF format)
• Southern Pine Beetle
• Southern Pine Beetle Internet Control Center (SPBICC).

Invasive Insects and Species

Invasive species are non-native to Virginia that spread quickly and are expensive and difficult to get rid of. You can learn more about the Emerald Ash Borer, Pine Bark Beetle, Gypsy Moth and Thousand Cankers Disease (TCD).

Don't Move Firewood

Insects can cause damage to healthy trees by feeding on their leaves or boring into their trunks. The threat insects pose continues with their larvae, which can be transported to new locations through firewood. In this way, areas that may not have been infected by insects can have a new infestation. Several information campaigns let the public know about the dangers of moving firewood.

• Don't Move Firewood (English; PDF format)
• Don't Move Firewood (Spanish; PDF format)
• “www.dontmovefirewood.org” - Web site from the Nature Conservancy.

The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) restricts moving any firewood from a quarantined area, including those states or counties within states under quarantine, from entering Virginia without a proper permit. View the map of quarantined areas. The Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) is enforcing the quarantine as best they can by telling campers entering their parks with firewood to burn it all within 24 hours and not to bring any on their next visit. They are confiscating and replacing any firewood coming from northern Virginia's quarantined counties. If a citizen refuses to replace their firewood with local sources provided by DCR, DCR is imposing a fine commensurate with a Class I misdimeanor. Fines for out of state firewood from quarantined areas violate federal laws and punishments can be more severe.

Even if an area is not under quarantine, it is a good general practice to not move firewood long distances. The quarantine regulations for an area usually lag well behind the arrival of a new invasive speces.

GIS Data Layers

Gypsy Moth Defoliation and Fall Cankerworm data sets can be downloaded from this website.

Publications

• View our list of publications on Forest Health.

Last modified: Wednesday, 08-Feb-2012 08:41:32 EST