Staff Win Award for Brown Spruce Longhorn Beetle Project

NATURAL RESOURCES--Staff Win Award for Brown Spruce Longhorn Beetle Project

Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources staff have been recognized by the Nova Scotia Federal Council for work on the Brown Spruce Longhorn Beetle project, the first of its kind.

"I congratulate Natural Resources staff for their commitment to the Brown Spruce Longhorn Beetle project," said Natural Resources Minister Tim Olive. "Our participation with the federal and municipal governments was critical to understanding the scope of the problem and for addressing options for eliminating the beetle from one of the province's popular parks."

Bob Guscott, a senior technician with Natural Resources, is a member of the project task force and accepted the award on behalf of the department. The task force was established by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency to determine the extent of damage caused by the beetle and to address options for eradicating it in Point Pleasant Park and surrounding areas in Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM).

In addition to Natural Resources staff, other members of the task force include representatives of the Canadian Forest Service of Natural Resources Canada, HRM, and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. The award was granted for the task force's cohesive approach to the development of survey and eradication strategies while allowing for the flexibility needed to adjust to a project that was both dynamic in nature and ever evolving.

Since 2000, surveyors have inspected some 625 square kilometres of urban and non-urban forest and more than 100,000 residential properties within HRM. In total, about 6,000 trees have been identified as possible homes to the beetle, removed and destroyed. To date, the beetle has been found in only three isolated sites outside of a 15-kilometre radius from Point Pleasant Park, the original identification site.

Our forests are an important resource for all Nova Scotians from an economic, a conservation and a recreational perspective. The province has worked with the federal and municipal governments, to ensure the Brown Spruce Longhorn Beetle does not threaten the long-term health of Nova Scotia's forests.