Large areas of Larch trees in the Isle of Man continue to be affected by the spread of the disease Phytophthora ramorum. Whilst the Department’s control programme was initially effective, the number of areas affected this year has, unfortunately, increased significantly.
Because of the rapid spread of the disease, and despite early work to ensure that supplies would be secure, the disease is now impacting on the Department’s firewood production and availability. However, as colder weather approaches, the Department is working hard to maintain supplies.
Tree felling is currently focussed on clearing areas of Larch as part of the disease control programme. As the spores of the fungus can survive for over four years in the bark of timber, the harvested Larch cannot be sold and moved around the Island as firewood without extra processing. This follows best practice guidelines of the Forestry Commission in the U.K. Controls in place help avoid the risks of the disease spreading into plants and trees in customers’ gardens, as well as into the wider countryside.
Chairman of the Forestry Directorate, Brenda Cannell M.H.K. said: “I hope that our customers will understand the difficulties that the Department is facing in its on-going fight to contain Phytophthora ramorum. The rapid spread of this disease in our forests is devastating.”
“Two plans are in place to ensure that the Department can maintain a supply of firewood. Firstly, a sufficient extra supply of Spruce has been felled to supply wholesalers to ensure that retail outlets around the Island continue to be supplied. Secondly, a process of kiln-drying is being used to enable Larch to be used for firewood. The heat treatment process not only kills the spores of the disease, but also improves the burning qualities of the product.”
Mrs. Cannell went on to say, “Unfortunately, due to the limitations of the kiln-drying process, the Forestry Directorate has had to cease the supply of larger bundles of ‘slabwood’ to the public for the foreseeable future. However, smaller bagged products are readily available from the Sawmill. In addition, the price of firewood has had to be increased but the extra processing does mean that customers purchasing larch will be able to get a premium, kiln-dried product to keep them warm this winter.”
Firewood orders and enquiries should be directed to St. John’s Sawmill, telephone 695719.
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