The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is worried that current forest practices in the Halifax region will spread the pesky Brown Spruce Longhorn Beetle, and are suggesting a larger quarantine zone.

The forestry industry is not in favour of an expanded quarantine. A quarantine would prevent all logging, a move that would inevitably result in job losses.

The expected expansion of the current quarantine area in the Halifax region would be the size of Prince Edward Island. No one would be allowed to cut a tree without a permit.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency says the beetle has been found in new areas outside of the current quarantined area, indicating the beetle has been traveling.

The Brown Spruce Longhorn Beetle is not native to Canada. It originates from Europe. Its presence in Nova Scotia appears to be its first in North America. It was first observed in dying red spruce trees in Point Pleasant Park in July of 1998.

The beetle attacks spruce trees. There is a current debate about the severity of the presence of the beetle. Some forested land owners and forest contractors say the beetle has been in the area for at least a century, isn't a problem, and only feeds on dead and dying trees, while the Canadian Food Inspection Agency says the beetle will attack healthy spruce during population outbreaks and are a definite concern for the forest industry.

Resources:
Woodlot owners pick beetle over quarantine (CBC)
Tetropium fuscum (Fabricius) - Brown Spruce Longhorn Beetle (Canadian Food Inspection Agency)
Discovery of Tetropium fuscum: Brown Spruce Longhorn Beetle ( BSLB ) Chronology of Events (Canadian Forest Service)
Brown Spruce Longhorn Beetle - An Informational Guide