Vail to cut down thousands of trees

[SkiNurse]

https://www.9news.com/news/local/article.aspx?storyid=100772&catid=346

VAIL, Colo. (AP) - Up to 7,000 lodgepole pines will be cut down at the Vail Mountain resort to reduce the risk that a tree killed by beetles could damage a ski gondola by falling or catching fire.



Vail Resorts spokeswoman Jen Brown said crews will cut down every lodgepole bigger than 5 inches in diameter in a 16-acre area. The resort covers nearly 5,300 acres.

The work is expected to be done over the next month. Spruce, fir and aspen will not be cut.

Brown says the area will remain open to skiers after the logging work.

A bark beetle infestation has already killed about 1.5 million acres -- or about 2,300 square miles -- of lodgepole pines in Colorado. The U.S. Forest Service predicts that beetles will kill most of the state's lodgepoles within five years.

 

[Jilly]

Is that the bug that turns the trees red?? I remember something last summer someone posted about red pine trees. Not that I like cutting trees of for any reason. The problem needs to be solved too.

 

[itri]

I was shocked when I drove home from Durango a couple of weeks ago. I took the "scenic" route and came up through Grand Junction and then across I-70 to get home and I couldn't believe the difference in the trees since I was up in the mountains last, just a few months ago for the A-Basin get-together. What was just sporadic beetle kill is now widespread. It was unbelievable driving up from the Silverthorne exit to the tunnel. Amazing that it happens THAT fast...

 

[SkiNurse]

Is that the bug that turns the trees red?? I remember something last summer someone posted about red pine trees. Not that I like cutting trees of for any reason. The problem needs to be solved too.

It is a bark beetle...it doesn't just turn the trees red, it kills them. The lodgepole pines are unable to "drink" and they die.

The solution ~ ten years ago when the bark beetle were first noticed, was to clear cut the area that was infected. Certain envrinmental groups prevented the forest service through lawsuits from clear cutting the couple of hundred acres needed to control the problem. Now there are thousands of acres that need to be clear cut. Because of that, Colorado will now lose >90% of the lodgepole pines. Summit (Breckenridge, Copper, Keystone, Abasin) & Grand (Winter Park) counties are already >80% dead with Eagle (Vail, Beaver Creek) County getting pretty close. Some areas, right now are less infected (Telluride, Crested Butte).

 

[Jilly]

10 years and they haven't found a "cure". Dutch elm disease was a big thing here years ago. Same idea - cut them down. Grow new ones that are resistant. Well my ol alma mater came to the rescue. They found a microbe that likes to feast on the catepillars that eat the leaves. It's sprayed from the air over the trees. The microbe is in spore form and ingested as the catepillar eats the leaves. Ingestion does all kinds of weird things to the gut of the organism. I'm surprised that similar research hasn't found something. These trees are too valuable to lose at that rate.

 

[SkiNurse]

It's not exclusive to Colorado. Montana, California, New Mexico have all been through this to different degrees.

 

[LilaBear]

It is such a shame to see the dead trees, and if you cut them down you have to mulch them to prevent the beetles from spreading. The trees do look reddish brown as they dry up and die. It's staggering how widespread it is, and also worrying, one fire and it will be out of control.

Vail is probably taking a very sensible course in removing those that are a danger to skiers and resort equipment.

 

[SnowHot]

This is sad news in deed.
We have the emerald ash bore here in Michigan. Its punishable by a huge fine and jail time if you move firewood from an area where the bore has been found.
They absolutely won't allow you to take firewood for camp sites from the lower peninsula to the upper peninsula.
These pests are devastating.

 

[Little Lightning]

Spraying the trees helps but the entire tree must be covered. Even though my condo assoc. has our trees sprayed we still have about 50trees to remove because they didn't get covered adequately. Also, early frosts help to kill the beetles but that hasn't been happening in recent years.

The possibility of forest fire is a very real danger to us. Our condo is near the top of Buffalo Mtn. next to the national forest. A lightning strike could set the entire area up in flames. There are hundreds of properties up there with only one road out. To date we have not heard of the details of an evacuation plan although we've heard there is one. When you pass the Silverthorne, Dillion exit there is a dirt road connecting Ryan Gulch road with I-70. I understand that it was put there as an escape route for Wildernest residents in the event of a forest fire.

Summit County requires property owners to remove all trees that are infected. This summer many camp grounds were closed due to the danger of dead trees and to give crews the opportunity to remove them. Dillon lake is now visible from the bike trail when it used to be blocked by pine forest.

I suspect Vail has concerns for town properties as well as protecting skiers. Last summer, during high winds, a beetle killed tree fell on and killed a hiker. Last winter was very windy and the risk of one of these trees coming down on a lift would be devastating.

There is so much land, much of it inaccessible, covered with these trees that forest fire danger will be a concern for many years.

4 years ago when I first saw the beetle kill I thought it was from air pollution. Little did I know that a tiny insect could spread so quickly and do so much damage.

Forest fire is not the only concern, according to this article the dying trees may also affect climate change.

https://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSN23396615

 

[itri]

On the bright side, it's spurred a whole new industry trying to use the wood from the dead trees. The furniture and flooring is actually really interesting and beautiful. https://www.denverpost.com/ci_7464882

 

[pinto]

...

Forest fire is not the only concern, according to this article the dying trees may also affect climate change.

https://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSN23396615

Avalanche paths will change, too. Or, shall I say, increase. The snow safety workers are already trying to figure out new, unaccounted-for slide paths when the trees are gone.

 

[Little Lightning]

And another concern,

"In addition to creating fuel for wildfires, dead or dying lodgepole pines that are susceptible to being blown over threaten the power grid that runs along the Continental Divide, a network that provides electricity for most of the western United States".

https://www.summitdaily.com/article...lan off to D.C. to fight pine-beetle epidemic

 

[Gloria]

This is sad news in deed.
We have the emerald ash bore here in Michigan. Its punishable by a huge fine and jail time if you move firewood from an area where the bore has been found.
They absolutely won't allow you to take firewood for camp sites from the lower peninsula to the upper peninsula.
These pests are devastating.

I worked in the extension office here about 7 years after the big boom of growth started to come from out-of-state. It was crazy identifying pests that had never been recorded as seen here in history. And then when you start thinking about all the different ways they can hitchhike around from state to state etc from lawn furniture to anything left outside that would support a cocoon or egg-sack that gets moved with people.

 

[Shannon D]

Most of the HOAs that we manage in Keystone and the Beaver Creek/Arrowhead areas are budgeting significant dollar amounts, upward of $100,000 per HOA, over the next several years for tree removal. It is a bone chilling sight, especially to see how badly it's spread over the last few years. My in-laws have a place on Buffalo Mountain as well and we have been reviewing insurance policies to make sure they are covered if there is a spark.