Forest Health Surveys

While the NCFS Forest Health staff monitor all forest health issues in the state, they conduct specially designed surveys for those forests pests which pose a unique risk or high hazard to our forest resources. The target of these surveys are forest pests that are currently present in the state of North Carolina and have the potential to due severe damage to one or more tree species, and exotic forest pests that are not currently found in the state, but whose arrival could have catastrophic consequences for our forests.

These surveys are intended to monitor forest pest populations and associated damage to ensure they remain at or below acceptable thresholds in the forest environment. Should these thresholds be exceeded, the NCFS may take action to actively control or manage the outbreak. In addition, surveys act as an early warning system for exotic plants, insects, and pathogens that threaten our forest resources. It is essential that the arrival and establishment of exotic organisms be detected as quickly as possible to allow quarantines, eradication, or other management efforts to be enacted so as to minimize impact of these invaders.

Currently, the NCFS Forest Health staff, with the assistance of County / District personnel, conduct annual or bi-annual surveys for the following forest pests and diseases:

• Hemlock Wooly Adelgid
• Emerald Ash Borer
• Oak Wilt
• Sudden Oak Death (Phytophthora ramorum)
• Thousand Cankers Disease
• Exotic Bark Beetles and Ambrosia Beetles
• Spongy Moth
• Laurel Wilt
• Southern Pine Beetle