beetle killed pines

[sagebrush]

I noticed while hunting the north slope of the Uintas in Utah that 80-90 percent of the pines were dead and the rest were dying from beetles. I was wondering if anyone else has noticed this happening in their hunting areas. I was curious as to how wide spread this is. Gary

[John3]

two years ago there were miles and miles of dead pines in British Columbia.. A logger told me he could hear the trees being killed... sounded like "rice crispys".  

The trees go rust then silver when dead. I was also told the government could have stopped the beatles but they were first found in a park.. They decided to let nature take its course... Sad
Think about when a hundered miles of standing dead pine catches fire...!

 

[Kip]

Gary  The last few years  we have a bettle that cuts the pine needle and the tree looks dead all brown but comes back to green life after the cycle of whatever the bettle does in a couple months.We also have outbreaks of the Pine Bettle that kills the trees for sure but no outbreak lately.Kip

[Charlie Lamb]

Lots of that in western Wyoming.

[Randy Morin]

West and South West montana is full of it.  Really started noticing it this year.  Some campgrounds were closed this summer for fear of the dead trees crashing onto people camping.  

It's not gonna be good anyway you look at it.

[pronghorn23]

What kind of beetles are doing this? We've got the Japanese beetles in the midwest and they will totally strip deciduous trees.

[Orion]

Lots of dead trees on the border between Wyoming and Colorado in the central part of the states.  Just spent 10 days there elk hunting.  My estimate is that 60-70% of the forest is dead or dying.    When the trees start falling, it will become almost impassible.   There will be some humongous fires in the future throughout the west.

[S. Brant Osborn]

Years ago you heard about it in Louisiana.  But with the timber industry here, apine hardly has time to grow to full maturity anymore.
B.

[Cherokee Scout]

We had the problem in Alabama but it seems to have slowed here.

[cacciatore]

I have noticed that since few years ago,in Colorado and Wy,but it is becoming worst and worst.What the Forest Service is been good to do for now is it closing campgrounds and sign on trail end that it is dangerous to stay in the wood when the wind is blowing!!!!I see bad time for the Western forests and the habitat

[PowDuck]

Where we hunt in CO (Routt NF) is terrible. Entire mountainsides brown. I don't know what they could have done but it's gonna be bad when it comes to fruition. If/When a fire gets started it'll burn for weeks if not months. Lives will likely be lost in trying to fight it and there will be no use in fighting it. They'll just have to try to keep the healthy forests from getting caught up in the fires. If wind is the first thing to come along then it will definitely be impassable. We'll have to find another place to hunt.

[amar911]

Here is good information from Colorado State University on the Mountain Pine Beetle that is killing off most of the pine trees in many areas of Colorado and other states.  http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/insect/05528.html  It is sad to see the death of all those trees that will definitely provide a huge amount of fuel for future fires.

Allan

[JimB]

Yes,it is happening here and I have seen it in colorado too.

[Don Stokes]

The mountain pine beetle and the Southern pine beetle are native insects, and have natural cycles, bad infestations typically coming several years apart.

We have a bigger problem in this country with insects right now, ones that are imported, which our native trees cannot fight off. The emerald ash borer is devastating populations of ash trees in the northeastern and midwestern states, and it is spreading rapidly, having reached from the East coast to Missouri. Quarantines have not been able to control it so far. It is spreading in firewood that people transport and, to a lesser degree, in wood products made from infected wood. We also have a serious outbreak in the northeast, of the Asian longhorned beetle, which kills several species of hardwoods. And then there's one attacking pine trees that could potentially wipe out the Southern pine zone if it spreads. There are more on the imported insect list that threaten numerous species from coast to coast, including fruit and crops.

My job involves issuing stamps to companies that ship outside the US which show that the wood packaging they use has been treated with heat or fumigant to kill any insects that might be in the wood which could spread to other countries. Our company does monthly audits at these facilities to confirm that they are following the standards. Right now the branch of the USDA that exists to protect our country from such pests is gathering data aimed at setting up a program to require treatment of all wood packaging and firewood products that cross State lines within the US, in what amounts to a last-ditch effort to control the spread of these imported pests, and also to help control the spread of home-grown ones like the mountain pine beetle. Public meetings hosted by the USDA are taking place right now to discuss these problems. I attended the first one, in Wash. D.C. a couple of weeks ago. The second was just held in Houston, TX, and two more are scheduled for Portland, OR, and Grand Rapids, MI.

Our hunting will be impacted by these insects and their effects on our forests for generations to come. Our ash trees, which grow all over the US, might very well go the way of the American chestnut and the American elm, two important species that were devastated by imported pests in our recent past. We have real trouble brewing. It will take the USDA at least two years to get a State-to State program under way, and by that time, if these pests spread at anything like their potential, it may be too late for entire regions of the country.

We can all do our part by NOT transporting firewood from home for any reason. That seems to be the main vector for many of these insects. Dead trees are perfect for firewood, and if an insect killed the tree it is likely still in the wood in larval form. If you're going camping, get your firewood after you get there!

Just imagine scenes like the pictures above, everywhere in the country!

[ArrowAtomik]

I saw this in Wyoming this summer.  It is a natural cycle.  The insects have been part of the mountain ecosystem long before we were involved.  Sure it is sad, but not all aspects of nature are pleasing to watch.  Also, its worth noting a massive fire becomes highly unlikely after a year or so as the trees quickly become too decayed to burn after the insects get to them.

I look at all those logging roads and ATV trails that scar those beautiful mountains and think of it as a healing process.  Many of those roads will vanish when the trees fall over them for miles, and in time a wilderness will return.

[sagebrush]

I think in the long run it will create more food for deer and elk. I know where there are clear-cuts or fires (aka yellowstone park) the undergrowth comes back fast and so do the animals that were absent in the old growth forests. The deer numbers in some of these areas have been down for years. I will have to hunt somewhere else while all this happens and keep an eye on what's going on. Gary

[homerdave]

we have had a huge beetle kill here, over 3 million acres.  trees are starting to come back, but lots of former mossy forest land is now grass, plays havoc on spruce grouse habitat, but the black bears are flourishing with all the currants and other berries. nearly impossible to get through though, it can literally take hours to go a mile...

  http://www.wildlifenews.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=wildlife_news.view_article&articles_id=71&issue_id=17

[acadian archer]

I lived in northern BC for a few years and it's amazing. you could stand on a mountainside and see red (dead) pines right to the horizon.  

As someone on here mentioned the beetles are native but they were, apparently, kept in check by the cold (-40) temperatures (2 to 3 week yearly cold snaps) which are now a thing of the past. Northern BC winters are a LOT warmer now and the beetle's natural antifreeze protects them in todays climate