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Montana's Beetle Problem

By KFBB News Team

Story Created: Mar 29, 2009 at 11:09 PM MST

Story Updated: Mar 30, 2009 at 5:09 PM MST

Mountain pine beetles have been a growing problem in the United States in recent years. In 2007, they were responsible for destroying 3.9 million acres of trees in the Western portion of the country, and Montana is being hit hard.

Mountain pine beetles may be tiny, but they are capable of wreaking havoc on Montana's beautiful trees. The current infestation is the worst it has been in years.

Gary Ellingson, a forestry consultant, explains, "They actually eat their way in through the bark, crawl in just underneath the bark, and lay eggs. And those eggs hatch into little larvae, or they almost look like a little grub, and they feed beneath the bark, and that feeding girdles the tree. It clogs the circulatory system of the tree. They introduce a fungus that also helps with that clogging, and that's what kills the tree."

Although there could be many factors to blame, one of the major theories is that global warming and a lack of cold temperatures have allowed the beetle population to thrive.

Ellingson adds, "We need, you know, 35 to 40 below, for, you know, a good week to ten days. We haven't seen that for a while."

The damaging effects create safety hazards caused by falling trees and an increased potential for wild fires. Not to mention, the dead forests create dramatic changes in scenery that have a negative visual impact on the land.

Ed Hall, a homeowner from Montana City, says, "I've got trees right by my house that are gonna have to go, which are obviously a danger to the house for fire as well as falling down, plus just the aesthetic value of the trees- they're older than I am, and I probably won't see their re-growth- but it needs to be done. "

Professionals recommend that the best way to fight this problem is through prevention and early detection of affected trees so that they can be removed immediately. However, they caution this is a problem that won't be going away any time soon.

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TreeMan said on Monday, Mar 30 at 7:11 PM

WE didn't have much for beetles until we started the let burn policies and leave it natural decay in the woods after the fires. what we need is a few more people making our laws that never spend any time in our forests.

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