Mountain Pine Beetle

[adkinsadam1]

Here are new pictures released that were taken only in Colorado this past summer. Right now, the Mountain Pine Beetle has killed about half the state's worth of trees. They say within 5 years 99% of forests from Colorado to Montana all the way up to Alaska will look like this. Even right now Montana and the Canadian Rockies are as bad or worse than this. Rocky Mountain National Park is ruined. Half the state is ruined. This is Colorado today. This will be the entirety of Colorado in three years. Yes it is very sad. That one of the town is Silverthorne near Dillon Reservoir.

Why aren't we doing something about this?

 

[CJ3Flyr]

Why aren't we doing something about this?

I think 'fixing it' is really hard. The chemical, I'm guessing, the EPA has outlawed because they discovered that 10days of continuous bathing may cause health issues.
Mountain Pine Beetle

 

[Bigrupp]

That's scary. We've got the same problem up here in the Black Hills. Not quite to that extent, but the way those damn beatles do their thing it will be someday. Hopefully they can figure something out.

 

[004Gunner]

The link Chris provided lists burning as a way to get rid of the beetle. I know that fighting forest fires is actually harmful to the health of a forest and I wonder how strict the fire control is in Colorado. Given the terrain I can imagine that a controlled burn easily turns into an all out forest fire, but we should not be so quick to extinguish natural occurring fires. Mature pines can easily recover from fire. Imagine that, a natural occurring resolution to a naturally occurring problem. It's almost like human interaction is not needed . . .

 

[Bigrupp]

Mature pines can easily recover from fire.

Have you been around many forest fires? They're pretty much a yearly thing here and let me tell you, there ain't much left. I suppose some of the mature trees along the edge can make it, but there ain't nothing left in the middle but charcoal.

I read an article the other day that talked about playing recordings of the sounds that the pine beetle makes backwards actually turns them on each other and they kill each other and they go all crazy. So I suppose all us 4Runner guys with big stereos gotta drive out there and crank up the..... pine beetle

 

[004Gunner]

Have you been around many forest fires? They're pretty much a yearly thing here and let me tell you, there ain't much left. I suppose some of the mature trees along the edge can make it, but there ain't nothing left in the middle but charcoal.

Not forest fires, but controlled burns. Not quite the same but fire is fire when the fuel source is the same

 

[Burt]

Nothing much can be done. The forest service just announced that the beetles may move-on this year due to them feeding themselves out of food. If we could get excessive cold temps for a couple weeks, the bettles would be killed. But too late, this year. Fire will naturaully occur, but would get out of control and cause many years of damage like the massive Hayman fire.
Still having floods and major errosion problems from that one.

 

[CeliRunnerGirl]

Ya it sucks. I wish they could figure somthing out ..I have lived in Colorado my whole life and my parents own a place in Grand Lake (near Winter Park) and to watch the beautiful mountains up there go from green to brown is pretty depressing.

 

[SlowYourRoll]

Ya it sucks. I wish they could figure somthing out ..I have lived in Colorado my whole life and my parents own a place in Grand Lake (near Winter Park) and to watch the beautiful mountains up there go from green to brown is pretty depressing.

Hey I live up in this area! Lots of dead trees, hit me up if you want a 4x4 tour through the gut of dead pine forests.

 

[CeliRunnerGirl]

Do you?? Sweet ill PM you!

Hey I live up in this area! Lots of dead trees, hit me up if you want a 4x4 tour through the gut of dead pine forests.

 

[MikesToy]

Can you pick me up?

 

[SlowYourRoll]

How much do you weigh?

 

[MikesToy]

180 lbs.