Chomp, Chomp, Chomp - Pine Beetle "Explosion" In Colorado Forests [View All]

"A major mountain pine beetle outbreak is changing the face of Colorado's high country, forcing landowners, towns and federal agencies to scramble in an effort to save parks, campgrounds and neighborhood landscapes.

Colorado State Forest Service officials estimate some 227,000 acres of lodgepole pine has been infested, more than half of that in Grand, Summit, Jackson, Eagle and Routt counties.

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The outbreak was caused by years of fire suppression, which allowed dense forests of the same age to develop, said Doug Leatherman, a state forest entomologist. The past five years, the driest on record, stressed the trees and made them susceptible to beetles.

Add to the mix a series of warm winters that allowed beetle populations to build and the results, experts say, were inevitable."

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http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36~53~2213143,00.html