— 80% of area pine trees likely to be wiped out —

(OSOYOOS TIMES — May 9, 2007) —

A severe infestation of the mountain pine beetle is expected to sweep through the pine forests on either side of the South Okanagan Valley in 2009 and 2010, laying waste to about 80 per cent of the ponderosa pine and lodgepole pine trees in the region.
And tree biologist Lisa Scott told an April 25 information meeting at the Anarchist Mountain Firehall that while there are steps people can take to save some trees in the 2007-08 period of lower-level infestation, there isn't much that can be done to stop the onslaught when the bug hits in a major way in 2009.
Scott is with Eco-Matters Consulting, of Summerland, and is Regional Co-ordinator of the Wildlife Tree Stewardship Program.
She told members of the public at the information meeting, The biggest thing landowners can do with their natural forest areas is to keep it in a healthy natural state “ for example by thinning trees and opening up the forest canopy.rnScott says people should keep a perspective on this phenomenon. This is a natural disturbance. People need to relax. (The pine beetle devastation) has happened before, in the early 1900s, and it will happen again.rnScott adds, From an ecological perspective, change is good.rnSigns of mountain pine beetle infestation include globs of sap on the tree bark and signs of shavings at the base of the tree. In the first year of infestation, people will notice the sap nodules, in the third year the tree will be red (and already dead), and in the third year it will go from red needles to grey.
Scott says the beetles attack trees that are stressed, including drought-stressed.
Thinning the forest can help to fireproof the area and also slow the spread of the beetles.
Hardware stores in the area are expected to begin stocking a pheromone, a pouch placed on the tree at two to three metres height that emits a scent telling beetles that the tree is fully occupied and they should stay away.
Also, a chemical called Sevin can be sprayed on the tree.