Our View: Pine beetle epidemic devastating
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Editorial Board, May 2008 to August 2008
- Bryna Larsen, publisher
- Brent Boyer, editor
- Mike Lawrence, city editor
- Tom Ross, reporter
- Eric Morris, community representative
- Paul Draper, community representative
Contact the editorial board at (970) 871-4221 or editor@steamboatpilot.com. Would you like to be a member of the board? Fill out a letter of interest now.
Steamboat Springs — Our pine forests are under attack, and they are dying.
Most of us who live in Routt County have watched the transformation of our hillsides as pine trees turn from green to red. Soon, they will be gray, and only time will tell what will replace them.
We're not alone. Mountain pine beetles are feasting on forests across the state and throughout the Rocky Mountain West, spreading as far north as British Columbia. Scientists studying the epidemic say it shouldn't be dismissed as simply the latest iteration of a cyclical natural phenomena. No, they say, the pine beetle epidemic is unprecedented in its scope. And man is at least partially to blame.
The gradual warming of the Earth's temperatures and forest management practices have allowed our pine forests to grow old and dense. Fire suppression and a decrease in permitted logging activity have allowed those fuels to accumulate in significant numbers. We've created an all-you-can-eat buffet of epic proportions for the pine beetle population, and they're getting their money's worth.
From Emerald Mountain to Mount Werner and the Flat Tops and Mount Zirkel wilderness areas, local pine forests are undergoing a colorful transformation usually reserved for deciduous tree species. The rust-colored foliage that dots our scenic landscapes signifies one thing: death.
The impacts to communities subject to the epidemic are less clear, but for mountain resort cities such as Steamboat Springs, the pine beetle poses serious threats to property values, tourism and general safety.
In The Last Stand, a five-part series on the mountain pine beetle epidemic and the West's dying forests, the Steamboat Pilot & Today explores the science behind the epidemic; forest management practices; impacts to industry, property values and tourism; fire danger and the environmental fallout; and our future forests.
The series kicks off today with "A Battle Lost: The social and emotional impacts of our changing forests." Each section will appear in the Sunday Pilot & Today as a special four-page pullout. The online version will include additional photos, videos and audio.
The series has taken reporter Brandon Gee and photographer Matt Stensland across the state and as far as British Columbia, where the pine beetle has ravaged more than 33.3 million acres of pine forests. Nicole Miller is the lead designer for The Last Stand.
Make no mistake: The mountain pine beetle epidemic will affect our public forests and private properties for years to come, potentially in ways we have yet to consider. Understanding the issue is the first step toward coping with it.
Comments
ColoradoNative 4 years, 10 months ago
The sooner it burns up the better. I just hope we don't lose any lives when it happens.
constant1 4 years, 10 months ago
i love the beatles...........john,paul,ringo and george.
scooter 4 years, 10 months ago
Heads up home owners...
I upgraded my fire insurance a month ago... It takes 30 days to go into effect. My policy went into effect 5 day's ago.
I'm sleeping much better now!
mountainmama 4 years, 10 months ago
Our forests right now are having a rough time combating the pine beetle. I don't understand why renigade mountain bike trails are being built in OUR forests and on PRIVATE property. Do the renigade trail builders even consider the damage to the enviroment they are creating? I think NOT. Why not put your tail building to good use and help midigate the already dead trees instead of creating more distruction.
muckermania 4 years, 10 months ago
no SH^T
Hadleyburg_Press 4 years, 10 months ago
New name for pines:
everreds or nevergreens
steamboatyahoo 4 years, 10 months ago
get a life mountain mama and stop complaining. There are going to be a lot more than mountain bike trails in those woods when they cut all the roads in to clear cut the forests of dead trees.
Isuedocs77 4 years, 10 months ago
i guess i would call myself one of the often criticized second home owner's in steamboat--we fell in love with routt county more than 10 years ago--now, the sea of dying trees and all of the development, its just a different place, a place we may very likely sadly leave--will it hurt tourism--of course it will--i haven't been to the boat since christmas--kind of dumb to have an empty house
BoatMaster 4 years, 10 months ago
Isuedocs77
Its always better to have less lawyers, so see ya.
Isuedocs77 4 years, 10 months ago
well BoatMaster--if that's what you think--i will leave--and take my tax money,and all the money i spent building that nice house and the second condo i own, and all the money i spend on the mountain, and all the money i spend in the restaurants and bars, and all the money i spend buying cars from steamboat motors, and all the money i spend buying bicycles, and all the money i spend on ski equipment, and all the money i spend on locals taking care of the grounds, and the houses, and the snow removal, and all the money my guests spend when they come to visit on ski lessons, and equipment, and lift tickets, and all the money i spend on golf memberships, because, boatmaster, the nice thing about being a lawyer is i can go someplace else where i feel welcome--and good luck with your local economy and your ability to live this wonderful life which is largely possible because "lawyers" like me drop a lot of money in your town
steamboatyahoo 4 years, 10 months ago
the problem is Isuedocs77 that you are threatening to leave and take your money with you because of our red dead trees for somewhere "prettier" I assume. You built your expensive house and now you're going to go off somewhere else and build another one and if that doesn't suit you I'm sure you'll do the same somewhere else.
Too bad you don't realize that those trees are just like the canary in the coal mine - a warning sign that something might be wrong, not just here but all over the world. CO trees are dying, Florida is drying up and you might have noticed that the West has been in a long drought (thus the beetle infestation), glaciers all over the world are melting away.
Soon there might not be any "pretty" place left to escape to with all your money for those adoring locals to cherish.
bcpow 4 years, 10 months ago
id77 this summer the river has been great things have been dry with temps in the 80s on a daily basis the wildflowers in the high country are beautiful right now the lakes are full and happy to oblige a swim or a line but dying trees and development have kept you away your loss not ours
Hadleyburg_Press 4 years, 10 months ago
Isuedocs77, We are not slaves to your vulgar materialism, only you are.
cmducks 4 years, 10 months ago
Luckily I was born here, and do love the valley, a couple of red trees isn't going to change that. The people who "just fell in love with the valley" and are deterred by a couple of red trees, aren't the ones who build playgrounds, and have hot dog cookouts for a friend of a kid that is sick. That's what's lovable about the community, not how much your second home in the mountains is worth. Let the fickle leave, or not come, life will go on, and the untracked snow will remain. They didn't sell me my land, and aren't going to buy it, so the imposed "value" isn't going to change me either.
Plus the betles are devistating the lodgepole pines. It's a bummber, and going to kick our butts, but there are other pine trees that make up a lot of our forrests around here, that seem to be unaffected by the beatles.
id04sp 4 years, 10 months ago
Isuedocs77,
Turned you down for med school, did they?
Wanna hear a good one? I turned down opportunities to attend med school AND law school. Why does that matter? Because I was smart enough to build a house surrounded by ASPENS! What do you think that's going to be worth when the pines are all cut down?
Bwaaaahaaaaa!
nondescript1 4 years, 10 months ago
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6095916
id- Take good care of those aspens.
Isuedocs77 4 years, 10 months ago
wow---we are a little sensitive aren't we?---vulgar materialism?--turned down for med school?--gee i wish rather than working to make a living to invest in "your" local economy i could be like all you guys--enlightened, wise, perfect, with a monopoly on community, and able to spend my days skiing or hiking or biking and not have to tolerate such "money mongering" jerks like me--
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