Maine § 8422. - Legislative policy

§ 8422.. Legislative policy

The Legislature declares that it shall be the policy of the State to undertake a spruce budworm management program to minimize the short-term and long-term impacts of spruce budworm insect infestations upon the state's spruce and fir forests in accordance with the following policy objectives:   [PL 1979, c. 737, §12 (NEW).]

1.  Supply of wood.  Monitoring the status of and reporting on the present and future supply of wood to support the long-term economic needs of the State and of its forest products industries;

2.  Development of program.  The development and utilization in both the public and private sectors of forest protection and management programs that are cost-effective, biologically sound and responsive to the public's environmental and health concerns;

3.  Reduction in use of insecticides.  The reduction in reliance upon the use of chemical insecticides in spruce budworm suppression programs;

4.  Private efforts; pest management.  The encouragement of private efforts to undertake a variety of integrated pest management techniques that result in a long-term reduction in the vulnerability of the State's forests to spruce budworm infestation and loss;

4-A.  Presalvage and salvage harvesting.  The regulation of presalvage and salvage harvesting designed to reduce losses of timber while protecting public trust resources and supporting the protection of wildlife habitat through the retention of non-susceptible tree species where silviculturally and ecologically appropriate;

5.  Implementation.  The implementation of methods for determining private and public participation in spruce budworm management programs, including provision for voluntary participation in future insecticide spray projects;

6.  Regulatory review.  The provision for adequate regulatory review of any proposed insecticide spray projects by the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry, Board of Pesticides Control; and

7.  Management options.  The provision of management options for forest landowners designed to minimize impacts of spruce budworm infestation and loss.