With 75% Of BC Lodgepole Pines Already Dead, Little Alberta Can Do To Stop Bark Beetles

EDMONTON — Crews armed with chainsaws and fire are fanning out across Alberta this winter, facing the almost impossible task of stemming the eastward spread of the voracious mountain pine beetle.

After destroying or infesting as many as 75 per cent of British Columbia's mature lodgepole pines, the insects have flown deep into north-central Alberta in search of more trees to ruin. The beetles are also firmly entrenched west and south of Calgary.

The tiny scourge threatens the jobs of thousands of forestry workers and the environmental health of watersheds that feed rivers that run across the prairies. And the dead and dying trees they leave in their wake will pose a significant risk of wildfire for years to come.

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Alberta has never had so much mature pine, so its forests are a massive timber smorgasbord for the beetles. Some scientists believe that once the beetles chew their way through the lodgepole pines they will attack other types of pine trees in the boreal forest that sprawls across much of northern Canada. Allan Carroll, a University of British Columbia forestry science professor, says the eastward spread into the boreal is almost inevitable if current climate conditions persist. He warns it could happen much more quickly if Alberta fails to control the spread of the bugs.

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http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5iornu0WYvWiSL4Ecr5v52RXr9wrA

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x6770197

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125547187504583409.html...

And allow the landscape to regenerate over many generations

I don't see how. Not without clear cutting all the lodgepole pines in BC. Good luck with that.

http://www.bcadventure.com/adventure/wilderness/forest/lodgepole.htm

What is interesting to me is the "Unique Feature" that this tree needs extreme heat to cause the cones to open up to release the seeds and produce the next generation. By aggressively attacking forest fires to save timber, I believe this has helped hasten the spread of the mountain pine beetle because there are no burned areas to block the path of their advance. The beetle also requires extreme cold for weeks on end to kill their eggs, something that hasn't happened in quite a few years. This is an example of how fire and ice could both work to stop an infestation if they were allowed to occur.