Mountain Pine Beetle

Don't know if any of you trappers are in the know about mountain pine beetle and the potential impacts this little pest will have on us as trappers, hunters and those who make a living in the forest industry? All you have to do to get a bit of background is take a drive through BC to see the impacts this little beastie can have if left unchecked. Estimates are that by 2013 - 80% of all the pine in BC will be attacked and/or dead and to salvage that before the wood is wasted you may have 4 or 5 years - that is millions of m3 of wood lost and a huge impact on jobs, communities and the forest environment as we know it today.
I have trapped most of my life and presently own an upper foothills line - I am also a forest manager (25 years) so am senitive to both sides of this issue. Right now the industry and government are working on control and response plans to either stop or slow the influx of the beetles or in a worse case scenario - react to outbreaks. Either way the beetle is here with large numbers of beetle killed trees in the Berland, Grande Cache and Grande Prairie areas (raining beetles in Grande Prairie this summer). There are also more showing up in the Canmore area and south.
I would advise any and all trappers to contact their local forest service office and timber company to get included in the decision making or at least in the information distribution of plans they may have to counter the influx of the beetles.

Just an FYI, it has been confirmed in Fox Creek and poterntially in Swan Hills area.

Howdie

I have lots to say about this issue as I live in the Cariboo and have seen this infestation happen. I am convinced that the beetles were introduced by greedy logging companys, but can't prove it. Either way they are here and have rape'd our forests. Now there is no forest managment as it was. It is a mad rush to get as much salvaged before its too late. I was in houston BC at the Canfor sawmill and the amount of wood they were truckin in was amazing. What are the restrictions as to how long the wood has untill it is crap? How much can these mills stockpile and how fast can they cut it. If we realize that this wood is not worth it, then are the sawmills going bankrupt due the the vast volumes they have brought in from the forests?

First hand I have seen contractors in our area dealing with the beetle kill lumber. They have been bitchin that the lumber is week, it splits, over all it is crap. Even though the mills are doing their best, what they are producing is a lower grade product. I think less focus should be on salvaging the wood and more should be on replanting our forests. maybe I should become a tree-planter, lots of work for those guys soon. Maybe I should keep my mouth shut and utilize this business oportunity.

I work at Pinnacle Pellet one of the leading pellet mills in the world, so having an abundance of useless wood might be a good thing for my job security. Once this beetle wood is no longer good enough to cut, we should chip it all and pelletize it. LOL... LOL...

Though after sitting for that long the natural ellements we rely on to make a pellet might have already left the wood. Not sure as the time hasn't come yet.

It is going to be a huge change for our country once this pine beetle is finished with us. I only hope that it doesn't affect the way of life of my generation or the lives of my 3 children.

VERY 'F'N CONCERNED!

The best way to NOT end up like British Columbia is to deal with the beetle now. Preventative measures and where it does show up - log it or burn it out.
My counterparts in BC say they have logged wood that has been dead for 5 years and still makes good lumber.
There are several rerasons for mills closing in BC or eastern Canada. In BC the pine beetle issue is only one factor - but rest assured - the shutdowns and layoffs are yet to come. Inaction or inadequate action is going to take it's tol on the BC mills.

I recently moved from Quesnel where the mountain pine beetle has made a tremendous impact on the forest.
In the beginning it was cut and burn, but this method did not save the trees in BC. IMO, the only effective way for man to eradicate the little blighters is areial spraying with insecticide when the bugs are in the air. The only other effective controller would be Mother Nature and the big deep freeze.
GoldFever mentioned a conspiracy started by the forest companies. I agree in principle with this theory, but I think it was the competition in the US that introduced an improved strain of bug.
The best place to start them off is a provincial park, because in BC, the ministry for parks would not allow any action to be taken within park boundaries. Their premise is 'let nature run it's course'. Tweedsmuir Park seemed to be the flashpoint for the MPB epidemic.
A little history here. In the late '70s, KOMO in Seattle did a documentary on the how the forest industry occuring on the Fraser Plateau of central BC was affecting the forest industry in Washington, Oregon and to some degree in California. The lumber barons in those states were of the opinion that the forest industry stemming from the Fraser Plateau was cause of the demise of their forest industry and they were looking for some accountability. Nobody of significance in BC was paying attention.
The economic impact is yet to come. It's kind of funny, not many people recognize that this is going to alter their lives in the most dramatic way. Too many rose coloured glasses in BC. The BC government will rely on oil and natgas to keep BC afloat, Alberta oil and gas that is. Expect to see a mass exodus of BC residents to Alberta in the near future.