The bark beetles, which are always present, feasted. “Unfortunately for Pitkin County, it’s forever on the increase after the Lake Christine Fire,” West said. The annual forest surveys have noted ...

Although Montana has turned a corner on the number of new forested acres infested with bark beetles, there’s concern that one particular type of bug that thrives in burned trees ...

However, Douglas fir beetles were making the rounds even before the Basalt-El Jebel fire. “It’s been blowing up, for lack of a better term, for probably the last decade or more,” Lockner said.

The Douglas-fir beetle problem has been a “slow burn” compared to the mountain pine bark beetle infestation that was so visible in many parts of the state, he said. Large swaths of lodgepole pine ...

In Idaho in 2022, Douglas-fir beetles caused tree mortality on more than 30,000 acres of land; western pine beetles affected 2,400 acres, and mountain pine beetles caused damage on more than 6,000 ...

A Douglas fir beetle outbreak has resulted in the loss of more than 1,000 trees on Mount Helena, and the city of Helena’s Open Lands Division is working this spring to address the outbreak that ...

Douglas, Gunnison, Jefferson, Eagle, Pitkin and Custer counties have severely affected Douglas-fir stands and "this beetle has depleted many of the largest trees in these areas over the past ...

The report by the state and federal forest services said Douglas-fir beetle activity was detected on 7,400 acres in Colorado, including 6,000 new acres. The White River National Forest, which includes ...

Trees: Vast swaths in West are red, gray and dying. Drought, fire suppression and global warming are blamed.

The Douglas-fir beetle is native to the Pacific Northwest, the Oregon Department of Forestry said, adding that populations can soar when they live in large trees that have fallen down.

For example, Douglas fir beetles expanded onto 15,000 new acres with pockets of heavy infestation in Eagle, Garfield, Gunnison and Pitkin counties, survey data show.

ASPEN ” There’s a “no vacancy” sign at Aspen Highlands that seems to be keeping the riffraff away. Those battling bark beetles are using a pheromone to try to prevent the bugs from invading and ...