• Dorais, Louis
  Quebec, Department of Energy and Resources
  
• Kettela, Edward G.
  Canadian Forestry Service
  

The Committee for Standardization of Survey and Assessment Techniques (CSSAT) was established in September of 1977 by the Eastern Spruce Budworm Council. The general need for the committee was recognized by the fact that spruce budworms respect no jurisdictional borders yet each jurisdiction tends to react differently. Policy decisions reflect certain commonalities on the one hand, yet unique circumstances on the other. The Committee, therefore, was a means to ensure that at least on a technical level the general principles of survey and assessment techniques were understood and evaluated in a manner unlikely to cause problems between jurisdictions. Obviously the underlining elements of concern included systems for forecasting budworm levels and forest damage in the context of forest spray programs and their evaluation. The ultimate goal was sufficient standardization of techniques to allows a realistic comparison of results.