| Beetle invading park |
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| Local Content - Local News |
| Written by publisher |
| Thursday, 04 February 2010 19:41 |
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By Marcia Love The ministry is searching for companies or individuals to cut and burn approximately 90 lodgepole pine trees that have been infected by the beetle. Park Services has been monitoring the mountain pine beetle’s activity in the area since the early 1980s, when the infestation became something that had to be addressed. The cutting and burning of the infected trees has been done by the ministry in the past, but this year’s tree removal exceeds its abilities. The female mountain pine beetle infects lodgepole pine trees by boring through the bark, where it lays eggs in the phloem layer of the tree and releases pheromones to attract more beetles. As the beetle larvae develop, they feed on the cambium layer of the tree, which affects the tree’s growth. In doing so, the beetle also infects the tree with a blue-stain fungi that the beetle carries with it. The fungi blocks the phloem layer of the tree, preventing it from carrying water from the roots up to the crown. As a result, the canopy needles will turn yellow, then red and eventually die and fall off. Kelvin Kelly, a ranger with the Ministry of Parks, has monitored the trees in Cypress Park. He said there were 133 trees in the park identified for removal in 2009. Compared to the 23 trees identified in 2008 and three in 2007, Cypress Park has seen a dramatic jump in the amount of infected lodgepole pine. Kelly said Park Services has been laying synthetic pheromone baits in the forest to attract and trap beetles. “We’re trying to concentrate the beetles in one specific area to help us control the population,” Kelly said. “It’s worked effectively, because we trap the beetles and then can cut and burn the localized infestation.” Prolonged cold periods, with temperatures dropping below -35 C for several days can kill off large portions of the mountain pine beetle population, but the only way to ensure the beetles are destroyed is to cut and burn the infected trees. Forest and Park Services have already burned 47 trees that were identified as infected last summer. The infestation is predominantly in specific locations in the West Block of Cypress Park. Kelly said the mountain pine beetle invasion has increased so rapidly this past year because of the favourable temperatures, but also because he believes there may be beetles coming in from other infected areas. “This year is the first year we’ve done monitoring in conjunction with the First Nations,” he said. “Carry the Kettle and Little Pine have been very helpful in doing similar surveys and have cut and burned 150 heavily-attacked trees. I think perhaps we’ve been able to control the beetles within the park, but the infestation has come from lands adjacent to the park.” The mountain pine beetle has been responsible for killing lodgepole pine trees across B.C. and Alberta, but Cypress Hills is the only area in Saskatchewan where it has created a nuisance, as it is the only area in the province with lodgepole pine. However, Kelly noted climate change could expand the beetle’s host species to include jackpine, which would endanger other areas of Canada. “If this beetle develops an appetite for jackpine, I think the Boreal Forest system could be in grave danger,” he said. “This beetle would not only go through Saskatchewan, but into Manitoba right to the East Coast.” Kelly said he believes the mountain pine beetle infestation within Cypress Hills has not moved in from the west, but is native to the area. “I think this is just our own little endemic,” he explained. “It’s always been present, since the mature lodgepole pine in this area is just part of its nature.” Because of the age of many of the trees within the park, Cypress Park has developed a Forest and Fire Management Plan. The mountain pine beetle will prey on weaker, older trees with less ability to repel the beetle than younger trees. “The trees are all 120 years old or older, and as they mature, they become more susceptible to insects and disease,” said Kelly. “These beetles can zero in on trees that are less able to defend themselves.” Younger trees are more successful at getting rid of the beetle by pushing it out with their resin through pitch tubes. The beetle will then move on in search of a weaker tree. Kelly said he hopes the mountain pine beetle’s presence in Cypress Hills will be under control following this year’s tree cut-and-burn. “We’ve done a real collaborative effort and we’re working to remove those trees, so hopefully next year we’re not going to see a volume of trees that have to be removed,” he said. “Still, a couple hundred trees is virtually nothing if we can control the spread of mountain pine beetles.”
Workers cut and burn trees infected with the mountain pine beetle. Park Services has identified 133 trees for removal from Cypress Park in the past year. Photo courtesy of Ministry of Parks |
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