ExploringMaine.com
Summer soak likely to rev up fall foliage
FALL FOLIAGE conditions will be updated each Wednesday through Oct. 21 at www.mainefoliage.com.
KEVIN GOVE, spokesman for the Office of Tourism, said visitors to the Web site can sign up to receive the weekly reports by e-mail and post comments on the "Foliage Forum" page.
GOVE SAID guided foliage hikes will be offered at some state parks on Sundays in October.
People didn't care much for the rain this summer, but trees loved the extra-long soak.
According to the first fall foliage report last week from the state Department of Conservation, leaf-bearing trees throughout Maine benefited from the wet weather and are now healthy and primed for their annual color change.
Bill Ostrofsky, a forest pathologist with the Maine Forest Service, said the state's fall foliage is on track for a colorful show.
"Good foliage development is a prerequisite for good fall color," Ostrofsky said. "The plentiful summer rain allowed the foliage to develop vigorously, and most crowns now appear full, dense and very lush. All regions appear to be on track for another spectacular season."
Ostrofsky said forest rangers in Aroostook County and the northern portions of Piscataquis and Somerset counties are observing low leaf color, or less than 30 percent toward peak color, along with "low leaf drop."
Color in the remainder of the state is very low, he said, or less than 10 percent toward peak color, and hardly any leaves have fallen.
"The health of foliage in northern, southern and Down East regions is particularly good," he said. "Overnight temperatures in the low 40s and the continued decrease in daylight will spark the gradual change in leaf color from north to south through late October."