UMaine researchers seek to protect forest workers from ticks

Researchers at the University of Maine have been awarded more than $1 million from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to try to help protect forest workers from tick-borne diseases.

Working in forests is a way of life in rural Maine, where pulp and paper remain important industries. Workers in forest industries also face exposure to tick-borne diseases such as Lyme disease.

UMaine says the researchers will use the USDA money to develop and test land management practices that protect the workers. The three-year project is being led by Carly Sponarski, an assistant professor of human dimensions of wildlife and fisheries conservation, and Allison Gardner, an assistant professor of arthropod vector biology.

The university says the team seeks to develop strategies that protect private forest owners, foresters and loggers.