More SRD bungling.

[Bushleague]

So last summer SRD intentionally transplanted Pin Beetles to the Slave Lake area in what seemed like a misguided experiment to see if Jack Pines were more resilient to pine beetles than other strains of trees. They built little net enclosures around a number of jackpine trees that were supposed to keep the beetles contained. This spring they showed up to see how their jack pines were doing only to find that most of them had been cut down by logging operations, and the beetles have presumably escaped.

So first of all, once again.... WTF? Why was this experiment even deemed necessary? It seems like studying jackpine survival rates in areas already hit by pine beetles would be a better idea. And if the experiment was indeed warranted, surely it could have been done in such a way that didn't involve introducing beetles into a previously clean, or recovering area.

Second of all, how the heck did SRD not know that their experiment was taking place in a planned clear cut? That is sort of their business is it not?

Thirdly, SRD is now more concerned with the fact that their experiment was inconclusive than the fact that they just aided the spread of pine beetles... They vow to make another attempt this summer.

[El Carnicero]

You would be shocked how often the government pulls this kind of stunt all in the name of "research".

Currently in my job I have seen so much wasted money in our department alone, doing "research" projects that have no need to be done, or the data from the same "research" project is already there in a file box somewhere in a basement from a previous time that was and will never get published.

There is nothing more frustrating than seeing these "projects" created out of "need" and then seeing how many new government hires there are just to make these studies "functional" when the government already has many many people already in their employ with the knowledge and background to do them.

The worst of it is, there is no end in sight for them and now matter what results they get, they ALWAYS come back as "inconclusive", most of the time because the people they hired to do the projects don't know how to handle the data they found.
I have sadly learned just to shake my head and go back to doing my peon job because nobody up top listens to the people working in the field.

Its all a money thing and a "Look what we accomplished" mentality.

[JB_AOL]

Nice way to spin things..

My first thought is, why didn't the logging company stop what they were doing when they came across these "netted" trees?

But hey.. Might as well bash SRD when you don't have the full details..

[Jayhad]

Originally Posted by JB_AOL

Nice way to spin things..

My first thought is, why didn't the logging company stop what they were doing when they came across these "netted" trees?

But hey.. Might as well bash SRD when you don't have the full details..

Bingo

[D4l3k]

Originally Posted by JB_AOL

Nice way to spin things..

My first thought is, why didn't the logging company stop what they were doing when they came across these "netted" trees?

But hey.. Might as well bash SRD when you don't have the full details..

we asked the logger a similar question about the 2 tree stands they grabbed and destroyed of ours

they said they just go go go go 24 hours a day when the season is on and you don't even notice things like tree stands or what is in the trees at 2am in the harvester

guaranteed it didn't even cross the operators mind when he grabbed the tree with some kind of crap netting around it, he probably didnt even see it in the middle of the night

just getting that quota is all that matters, try running those machines and you will see what it is like, everything starts looking the same over and over, especially at night time

if you dont coordinated with lease holders of the trees don't be sad when its gone

we work very closely with the logging companies on our trapline and they are awesome if you put the time in to coordinate stuff with them they are very reasonable

[Bushleague]

Originally Posted by JB_AOL

Nice way to spin things..

My first thought is, why didn't the logging company stop what they were doing when they came across these "netted" trees?

But hey.. Might as well bash SRD when you don't have the full details..

The logging company did not put the pine beetles there, which IMO is the root cause of the problem. They are also not going to put them there again despite having the stupidity of such an experiment clearly demonstrated to them... which is SRD's current plan.

IMO the pine beetles should never have been intentionally transplanted to a previously unaffected area, beyond that its all just gravy. Communicating with the logging company, and/or clearly marking the area would have gone a long way though.

[JB_AOL]

Originally Posted by D4l3k

we asked the logger a similar question about the 2 tree stands they grabbed and destroyed of ours

they said they just go go go go 24 hours a day when the season is on and you don't even notice things like tree stands or what is in the trees at 2am in the harvester

guaranteed it didn't even cross the operators mind when he grabbed the tree with some kind of crap netting around it, he probably didnt even see it in the middle of the night

just getting that quota is all that matters, try running those machines and you will see what it is like, everything starts looking the same over and over, especially at night time

if you dont coordinated with lease holders of the trees don't be sad when its gone

we work very closely with the logging companies on our trapline and they are awesome if you put the time in to coordinate stuff with them they are very reasonable

I highly doubt it was just some fish net thrown over a single tree, more likely a fenced (temp.) area with a sign, and the trees inside were netted.. But hey. We don't have any details aside from OP's coffee rumors.

And what concerns me more re: can't see what we are doing..

(and they say o&g is ruining the world.).

[JB_AOL]

Originally Posted by Bushleague

The logging company did not put the pine beetles there, which IMO is the root cause of the problem. They are also not going to put them there again despite having the stupidity of such an experiment clearly demonstrated to them... which is SRD's current plan.

IMO the pine beetles should never have been intentionally transplanted to a previously unaffected area, beyond that its all just gravy. Communicating with the logging company, and/or clearly marking the area would have gone a long way though.

Fair enough, but did you think that maybe they put them in a "to be logged" area, on purpose, so it couldn't spread, as the trees had limited life left? And somewhere plans (ie.timelines) changed?

I'm not denying there was a lack of communication somewhere, but blaming SRD when there is zero (actual) information is pathetic.

[JohninAB]

Few comments:

SRD has not existed for 3 years now at least.

Numerous tagged, marked and flagged out areas have been logged by logging operators in error.

Lodgepole pine is the predominant pine species in western Alberta. Jackpine is found in the eastern areas of the province where the pine beetle may be headed to.

If the area was logged this winter, then the beetles should have been in the trees. Trees be dealt with at the millsite.

Think more facts are required before passing judgement on this incident.

[CMichaud]

What is the source of this report?

Not judging....just asking

[Grump]

Originally Posted by CMichaud

What is the source of this report?

Not judging....just asking

^this... it kills me when people post things like this with zero support. If it's hearsay, the value of these facts degrades significantly.

[Bushleague]

Originally Posted by Grump

^this... it kills me when people post things like this with zero support. If it's hearsay, the value of these facts degrades significantly.

This story ran in the Lakeside Leader this week, the Slave Lake paper. I checked their web sight but the story is not there, otherwise I would have linked it.

[EZM]

Originally Posted by JohninAB

Few comments:

SRD has not existed for 3 years now at least.

Numerous tagged, marked and flagged out areas have been logged by logging operators in error.

Lodgepole pine is the predominant pine species in western Alberta. Jackpine is found in the eastern areas of the province where the pine beetle may be headed to.

If the area was logged this winter, then the beetles should have been in the trees. Trees be dealt with at the millsite.

Think more facts are required before passing judgement on this incident.

100% agree. And since you spent 30+ years in the industry, as a senior manager, and working in this field, who wants to hear your opinion anyways John - what do you know????? lol.

May I add some of my own uneducated thoughts here as well .....

If the trees were "supposedly" infected and the beetle were in situ overwintering - then there has been, and there should be ZERO risk of infecting other trees. These beetles won't move until the summer and only emerge for a few days to fly off to another tree. Pine beetles spend the rest of their lives inside the host tree.

You cut the frozen tree and it's off to the mill long before they emerge and start the cycle all over again.

Further to that thought - The containment and control you also explain (the net) isn't consistent on how this type of experiment would have been conducted.

Many of these studies are also conducted with a sterility fail safe to make any offspring non-viable.

Anyways ...... sounds like maybe a water cooler story gone circus to me.

[HoytCRX32]

If this (or some of this) is true, at the very least more taxpayer money was p#%*ed away with nothing to show.

[RZR]

Originally Posted by HoytCRX32

If this (or some of this) is true, at the very least more taxpayer money was p#%*ed away with nothing to show.

This pretty much says it all. This government couldn’t organize a one legged azz kicking contest.

[Walleye Willy]

I saw little tents around the trees just North of the Athabasca river last year. Wondered what they were. This year I see the area has been logged.