The University of Minnesota Extension Service is offering a day-long training symposium to help North Shore landowners manage their woodlands through the current multi-year spruce budworm outbreak. The Spruce Budworm Symposium takes place on Saturday, November 1, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the ISD166 Cook County public school in Grand Marais.
“Cook County is experiencing significant spruce and fir tree decline and mortality due to this cyclical, native insect, said Anna Stockstad, University of Minnesota Extension Forest Ecosystem Health Educator. “Given the intense impact, forest resilience and wildfire mitigation have become critical considerations for local landowners.”
There is a significant and ongoing Spruce Budworm infestation in Northeast Minnesota, particularly in Cook, Lake, and St. Louis counties. The current outbreak is the most severe since the 1960s. The outbreak is in its fifth year, and more than 700,000 acres of trees were defoliated in 2024.
In the morning, the symposium will feature concurrent sessions on topics including financial assistance for landowners, local fire history, climate resilience, and strategies for promoting a healthier forest after an outbreak. Lunch will be provided, followed by networking with regional natural resource agencies. An optional afternoon field tour by bus offers a firsthand look at management strategies to mitigate impacts.
“This symposium is a great way for landowners to get practical information on how to deal with the impacts of the budworm,” said Stockstad. “Between the expert presentations and the outdoor field tour, attendees will leave equipped with better knowledge of practices they can implement on their own land to maintain forest health into the future, along with the resources to make it happen.”
The Spruce Budworm is a native insect that feeds on both spruce and fir; balsam fir is the most susceptible to its impact. The insect eats the new foliage, and repeated defoliation over several years can kill the trees.
The most significant impact of the infestation is a heightened risk of wildfires, in addition to the negative aesthetics of seeing dead or dying trees in the forest. Those trees, particularly balsam fir, act as “ladder fuels,” allowing ground fires to climb into the forest canopy and spread rapidly. Recent wildfires in northern Minnesota were exacerbated by the large amount of dead timber left by the budworm.
State and federal agencies are implementing management strategies to address the issue. This includes timber harvesting to remove dead trees and reduce fuel loads, as well as thinning stands to increase the health and resilience of the remaining trees. The U.S. Forest Service has launched the Blue Cascade Spruce Budworm Response and Restoration Project in Cook County.
This event is offered in partnership with Cook County Firewise, Natural Resources
Conservation Service, and the Cloquet Forestry Center. Funding and in-kind support are provided by Cook County Extension, Cook County Soil and Water Conservation
District, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Hedstrom Lumber, and Cook County Schools ISD166.
For more information and registration, visit extension.umn.edu/event/spruce-budworm-symposium
