Understanding the impact of a Spruce Budworm outbreak [Video]

89% of the state of Maine is covered in forests and half of those trees are spruce and fir trees. The state legislature is working to pass $2 million in the supplemental budget to protect these trees.”Spruce Budworm is actually a native insect. It’s normally here all the time, but in very low densities, we can’t normally find it. But about every 40 years, it explodes,” Angela Mech, director of the University of Maine Spruce Budworm Lab, said.Once every four decades, the state needs to treat Spruce Budworm. Quebec, Canada is currently in the middle of an outbreak which means Maine needs to treat it now or all these trees could die, potentially causing forest fires.”They’re basically standing matches, just waiting for the spark,” Mech said.Mech’s lab monitors the hot spots across the state so the Spruce Budworm task force knows where and when to expect an outbreak.”If there’s really …