# Report: Beetles on track to kill lodgepole forests in 3-5 years



## Pablo (Jul 7, 2004)

http://www.denverpost.com/ci_7967666

Enjoy the trees while they're still here.


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## MikeBiker (Mar 9, 2003)

Without the trees, the mountains will be easier to see.


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## Bocephus Jones II (Oct 7, 2004)

Pablo said:


> http://www.denverpost.com/ci_7967666
> 
> Enjoy the trees while they're still here.


Well it's just the lodgepoles from the sounds of it, but yeah...sad. Our aspens in our lot are also dying from borer insects. It sucks. Global warming is thought to be the blame for allowing the insects to thrive and spread. =


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## Pablo (Jul 7, 2004)

FYI: I posted this on mtbr.com also. There was some interesting discussion.


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## Jokull (Aug 13, 2007)

Its a big deal. I'm actually sat at my desk right now writing a grant application to study the impact that the MPB infestation will have on sediment inputs to rivers (and hence on salmon habitat) in British Columbia.


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## Pablo (Jul 7, 2004)

There's a follow-up article with more detail here: http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_7972146


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## Jokull (Aug 13, 2007)

Pablo said:


> FYI: I posted this on mtbr.com also. There was some interesting discussion.


I just read the thread... Yeah, interesting!

Actually, it was interesting to hear all the discussion about fire. In the watershed I'm studying, the main concern is getting the trees out while they still have some commercial value: they'd never get the chance to burn! Trouble is, massive salvage loggings really messes up the hydrology and geomorphology, so its not so good for the environment. Theres a lot of talk about finding alternative uses for the trees that would allow them to be used commercially, but not at such a fast rate, like burning rotten trees for energy.

One other thing I noticed - somebody mentioned the idea that the bugs don't like small trees, so the infestation will die down then all the big trees are gone. That idea seems to be based on the days when the climate kept the bugs in check. In the watershed I'm working on in central BC, where 85% of the trees are now infested, I've seen little tiny trees, small enough to take inside and use as a Christmas tree starting to go red - the bugs will take anything they can get...


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## Bertrand (Feb 1, 2005)

There are huge swaths of red conifers all over BC. It's absolutely staggering when you fly over it. The trees are dying so fast in northern BC that 24 hour a day log hauling can't keep up. I've heard that 30 percent of the forest is gone now. 

The beetles have always been here, but the forests are no longer exposed to unconrrolled fire or 14+ consecutive days of -40 weather in the winter.


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