Daily Press Writer
MONTROSE — The mountain pine beetle continues to plague forests across much of northern and central part of the state, according to a report released by the Colorado State Forest Service.
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“Right now that’s where it happens to be the most intense,” said Jen Chase, a forester with the Colorado State Forest Service.
The insect is always present in the state’s forests, but because of climate condition such as drought and hotter temperatures, and the aging condition of the state’s lodgepole stands, the beetles have flourished, leaving a trail of dead, red-tinged trees.
The insects now occupy roughly 664,000 acres of the state’s forests with varying degrees of mortality, according to the aerial surveys used to gather information for the report.
Although the lodgepoles, especially at higher elevations, have come be known as “asbestos forests” because they rarely burn, the report notes that the mountain pine beetle has become a significant cause of fuel buildup that could result in intense fires.
The report says the thinning of younger lodgepole stands, the cutting of openings in mature stands, and the management of naturally ignited fires would create age and spatial diversity.
Locally, lodgepole pine occupy 9 percent, or roughly 266,000 acres, of the Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests, according to the draft of the GMUG forest plan released last summer. Much of that population sits on the GMUG’s eastern edge in Gunnison and Saguache counties.
The state report also noted that aspen decline occurred for the second year in a row across western Colorado, affecting roughly 138,000 acres of aspen stands.
Aspen account for nearly 22 percent or 672,800 acres of the GMUG.
The state forest health report has been produced annually for the last six years. State foresters briefed the Colorado Legislature on its findings last week before releasing it to the public.
Contact Matt Hildner via e-mail at matth@montrosepress.com
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