Forest Pest First Detector Training

Minnesota Forest Pest First Detectors are trained to quickly detect, diagnose and report critical invasive pests. This workshop welcomes new volunteers and active detectors who want to help find new invasive species affecting Minnesota’s trees and forests.

 

The 2026 workshops will focus on emerald ash borer, oak wilt, Phytophthora species, including sudden oak death, jumping worms, elm zigzag sawfly, spotted lanternfly, tree-of-heaven, Amur corktree, round leaf bittersweet, stiltgrass, swallowworts, rowan mountain ash, and porcelain berry.

 

For forestry professionals, there will be another Forest Pest First Detector program offered through the Sustainable Forestry Education Cooperative (SFEC) on Thursday, June 25, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Cloquet Forestry Center.

 

This program is a joint venture between University of Minnesota Extension, the Minnesota Departments of Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Transportation and the U.S. Forest Service.