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Mountain Pine Beetle

"At the current rate of spread, 50 per cent of the mature pine will be dead by 2008 and 80 per cent by 2013. The consequences of the epidemic will be felt for decades in British Columbia."

 
COMMENTS
Wildthing said at 5:15 a.m. on Oct 5, 2008:
Didn't know anything about the mountain pine beetle. Sounds as bad as the Dutch elm beetle. Nature always recovers though, even if it's on a time-scale that is many generations to us. Wonderful photography. #11, the panoramic view of the lake, forest & mountains is my favorite.
Ira said at 8:04 a.m. on Oct 5, 2008:
OH! Problems of a nature and ecology very important. And it is very a pity, that the trees are killed by the bugs or people. It is all conducts to global accident. You have made magnificent panoramas. Very beautiful!
Tishfish said at 8:45 a.m. on Oct 5, 2008:
WOW ! Quite a destructive little beetle. We have the spruce bud worm and another beetle, they also are very destructive. Great shots Dar ! ! ! !
Hhwind said at 9:41 a.m. on Oct 5, 2008:
Oh!!! sad seeing the pines going down like this, well the ecology is very fragile and with global warming we could see more desasters. Thanks for the lovely shots though a sad one and also for the link.
Chilla said at 10:08 a.m. on Oct 5, 2008:
Your photography is always of the best, but the destruction of these beautiful pine forest is extremely sad!
YorkJodi said at 10:45 a.m. on Oct 5, 2008:
I love the colors & layout of this beautifully made tabblo... until I came to the words I thought the trees were beautiful in their rust colors across the lake with the mountains behind... and then the sadness of the "why"... Too bad!! Great job reporting this Dar!!
Charlespop said at 10:48 a.m. on Oct 5, 2008:
Tishfish has it right- "WOW ! "
Cowgirl said at 11:20 a.m. on Oct 5, 2008:
Wow ,,, last one is my fav... great layout
Hollyridger said at 1:40 p.m. on Oct 5, 2008:
Many great shots here, Dar. I especially like the panoramic view with the snow covered mountain in the central background. You have successfully demonstrated the potential tragedy of this pine beetle devastation, a fallout of global warming. It is frightening to read that it could be 80 years before BC recovers according to David Suzuki. Unbelievable to think that such a tiny insect can wreak such havoc. Thanks for posting the very interesting websites. I found the font colour makes it a little hard to read unless I click on it. Not sure if this is just my screen!
Debdog said at 1:52 p.m. on Oct 5, 2008:
SAD!!!! this is also happening in the American Rockies.....I noticed it this winter while in Colorado visiting a friend.....
Sd14 said at 3:21 p.m. on Oct 5, 2008:
very sad to see threes dying so but is this a natural predator of the pine maybe there is too many pines a bit like the potato with blight in damp climates are pines natural to canada,
i have noticed that the pine smothers everything under it they sopport no bird life at least here in ireland as far as i know, still its sad to see anything dying because of us i think,
now about your pics very excellent capture&documenting&sharing with us ,i must confess iam very
jealous here you have so much beautifull country side to get lost in ,"WOW" if i could come over for a visit it would have to be about a year long, congrats you do lovely photography,



mesd14+++joe
Abking said at 9:42 p.m. on Oct 5, 2008:
Many forests in the Northwest have been weakened by these destructive bugs. The weakened trees are an invitation to forest fires. Wide spread infestation has eluded control. Good presentation of this problem.
AliDar said at 12:22 a.m. on Oct 6, 2008:
Thank you everyone. Jodi, that's exactly what I was going for with this tabblo because that was how I experienced it, ... at first enjoying the beauty of the colours, and then realizing just what it was that I was seeing.

Just imagine that panorama of the mountains in six or seven years....

The Mountain Pine Beetle may be a natural predator, and under natural circumstances, it might even be considered a benefit to a forest because it quickly disposes of old and weakened trees to make way for new growth, but the circumstances are far from natural. Global warming has changed the weather patterns enough to create milder winters that the pine beetle can survive. Clear cutting and the replanting of the one preferred crop of pine, without the diversity that would insure a healthier forest makes it easy for the beetle to quickly take hold in a region, and the prevention of forest fires, because of the protection of human habitat and resources, have eliminated what would normally be another natural occurrence that would keep the predator in check. Forest canopy's and tree roots hold moister in the soil. Tree falls, fallen needles and leaves put back into the soil what the trees uses, as well as provide the basic for a complete eco-system, and home for wild life.
To think that nature will take care of itself without our intervention is optimistic, to say the least. It's our intervention in the natural order of things that has created such an imbalance that natural predators such as the pine beetle and the spruce bud worm can take hold in such catastrophic proportions. Not only are forests beautiful to look at and the home to many species of flora and fauna, but they are a valuable resource, and it's not just wood and paper products we get from them; trees remove carbon dioxide from the air and replace it with oxygen. They are responsible for cleansing and replenishing the very air we breath.
Leftofcenter said at 6:45 a.m. on Oct 6, 2008:
still, stunning landscapes-great shots Dar.
PaulBarfoot said at 1:01 p.m. on Oct 6, 2008:
Dar, thanks for the information as well as the pictures. It is a frightening thing to see. I know there are natural cycles of predation but the ease with which humans move around the globe has facilitated the spread of scenes like this. A case could be made to describe humans as parasites I think.
Lifequest22 said at 11:04 a.m. on Oct 7, 2008:
Dar, sad to see these beautiful trees dieing off. That green tree in the top left photo will probably join it's neighbors in turning to the brown death. The trees on Mt. Mitchell--which is the highest point on the east coast in North Carolina are dieing off. Scientist's believe they are the victims of acid rain. http://www.northcarolinaoutdoors.com/places/mountains/blacks.html
Debdog said at 12:15 p.m. on Oct 7, 2008:
Dar, when I was in Algonquin Park past summer, there were areas that were hit by spruce bud worm many years ago, it is coming back, and allowed other trees to come back too,like some pines that had not grown since 192o's and it brought back a whole population of bird that feeds on the spruce bud worm! I sure hope this is the case eh?
Siagian said at 12:49 p.m. on Oct 7, 2008:
beautiful mountain views... well done Dar!
AliDar said at 2:50 p.m. on Oct 7, 2008:
Thanks Annelies, Paul, Linda, Deb, and Woody!

PAUL, I wish more people would find it frightening to see. Most people don't want to think about things they feel they can't change. Environmentalists have been writing articles for years speaking of things that should be a wake-up call, but we all just go about our business, driving our cars to work, turning up our heat when it gets a little chilly, and dumping our wastes into the ocean and landfills. ...Even a small change in our daily living practices can help, especially if you think about just how many people there are in the world, and add up all those small changes.

Linda, the Black Mountains are beautiful; I would love to spend a couple of days exploring their trails! ... Interesting to see how the acid rain has just effected the crest; it's like it's because it's closer to the source of the rain, and somehow by the time it reaches the trees below, the acid has somehow been filtered enough to not cause any damage. There's alot of acid rain damage in Eastern Canada, and we've been told that that is because of the air pollution coming from the Northern mid-states. ... Passing the buck, I would think, but the last I heard, things have been getting better out there, and the species of birds, like the eagle, that had decreased in numbers because of the heavy metals left behind by the acid rain, have slowing been increasing in numbers once more; so it's nice to know that peoples efforts to green things up a bit are having an affect.

Deb, good to see that you're seeing signs of that as well. I'm afraid though that the Chicotin area of BC appears to be turning into a desert, so it's hard to think that once the trees have disappeared, they will ever come back.
Chiloedream said at 11:18 a.m. on Oct 8, 2008:
Merci pour ce grand tabblo chère Dar, la nature nous émeut dans sa beauté et ses désastres. Salut mon amie.
Shenresi said at 2:15 a.m. on Oct 11, 2008:
I agree with Thierry. I`m very sorry for the Pines, but in Germany the trees are also dieing, not in corse of the beatles, they are dieing from smog and sour rain
Candlepower said at 1:45 p.m. on Oct 11, 2008:
A loss to us all. The forest is under pressure from many sides and how long it has before we loose it who know.
Eduardo.affonso said at 8:20 a.m. on Oct 14, 2008:
This is such a great disaster. We all will be endangered species soon...
JuDeck said at 10:58 a.m. on Oct 21, 2008:
great shots capturing the devastation of that little bug...i think i saw the same in New Mexico a few years back and yet was surprised i didnt see it in the mountains of Flagstaff...amazing how it is affecting the environment...loved the shot of the snow capped mountains!
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