I spent the last few days in Colorado at the Western meeting of the National Ski Areas Association- and trust me, if you want to understand the full impacts of insects that kill trees, you should go to Colorado.
Let's start here; the mountain pine beetle that is killing trees in the Rocky Mountain West is a native species. But that doesn't mean it is acting like one. Because of lots of factors (legacy of fire mismanagement in forests, drought, possibly carbon dioxide amounts, and more) the lodgepole pine stands of the west are being attacked by a native insect in a way that you would expect if it was a non-native insect.
I've never seen anything like it before, and I feel like it was a cautionary tale. Huge expanses- and I mean HUGE- of dead trees. As far as the eye can see. It is taking a tremendous toll on the land.
And of course, we return to firewood. People with second homes, or just small firewood businesses on the side, are taking firewood from these dead tree zones and moving it down into Denver, Grand Junction, and other cities. From there, the bugs crawl out of the firewood and infest the trees around people's houses, streets, schools, etc.
This is the opposite order of events that we normally think about (usually it is urban infestations moving into natural areas) but it is the same issue. Amazing.
I admit I should have brought my camera, but I'll leave you with this recent article in the Denver Post. Like I said, the mountain pine beetle is native, so it is a bit different from what we normally talk about here. But still very important to understand!
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