BARK BEETLE [spraying]

[cjcj]

i hear they are spraying for the bark beetle up in durango colorado, how do you GREENIE WEENIE`S feel about it?

 

[Nut]

Don't know how I feel about it...maybe if I knew more about it I could see what they are doing and what with?

 

[ELKCHSR]

It is a good thing to keep the numbers of this pest down to a point, not total eradication, but if they arn't knocked down, they will, when this food source runs out, because there are so many of them, move into the healthier forests next to the infected areas and create more problems just by shear numbers...

 

[1_pointer]

Who are you referring to with GREEN WEENIE?

FWIW, I feel the spraying is probably necessary because the lack of fire has increased the density and age structure of the forests, making them more susceptible of bark beetle infestation.

 

[JoseCuervo]

Mine's not Green.....

And on these kind of issues, I will defer to 1-Pointer, as he is a much more educated person than I on these issues. So... what he says....

<FONT COLOR="#800080" SIZE="1">[ 06-27-2003 19:38: Message edited by: Elkgunner ]</font>

 

[cjcj]

by green weenie i was looking for a comment from ithaca, buzz, rocky dog. as i thought their stand on most forest issue`s was to just let NATURE do it`s thing. p.s. elkgunner i heard your`s was black and blue.

 

[BuzzH]

cjcj, I got a question for you:

How many timber sales have you laid out, marked, etc.?

I've done quite a bit of it, along with all sorts of other natural resource management work.

I'm not opposed to logging at all, when its done correctly, which I've stated many, many times on this board, the same with grazing. By the way, choosing not to manage and "have nature take care of itself" is a management decision.

As far as spraying bark beetles...

That all depends. If its to hold off the infestation for a few years so it can be logged, yeah its a worthwhile investment. If its being done just to reduce the infestation and the wood isnt planned to be utilized, then its a waste of money. You would be throwing money at a battle you will never win.

1-pointer may have the answer, but I couldnt and wouldnt say that fire suppression and stand density, mismanagement or anthing else is the problem. I'd have to see it before I made that kind of statement.

Without having seen the area in question I'd guess that stand age, tree size, and tree species, combined with drought are the reasons for the bark beetle infestation, I have my doubts that any mismanagement is the reason.