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July 30, 2013

Regulators seek to expand hemlock quarantine

State regulators are hoping to quarantine hemlock trees in 81 more Maine communities in an effort to contain an invasive pest called the hemlock woolly adelgid.

The Portland Press Herald reported six towns are now under the quarantine. But state regulators said warmer winters and wetter conditions are promoting the spread of the pest, primarily in southern Maine.

Ken Laustsen, a Maine Forest Service biometrician, told the paper that around around 150,000 acres with an annual value of $6.73 million. They are the third-most valuable trees for paper pulp and saw timber production, behind spruce firs and white pines.

The adelgid only affects live trees, causing damage to the wood and, in some cases, killing trees.

State regulators will on Wednesday hold a public hearing on the proposal, which would restrict the movement of hemlock material from towns and cities in all of York, Lincoln and Sagadahoc counties as well as certain municipalities in Androscoggin, Kennebec and Cumberland counties.

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