A research study by Will Ondrik

The Effects of the Mountain Pine Beetle

in British Columbia

IntroductionAbout the size of a grain of rice, the mountain pine

beetle is destroying British Columbia’s interior forests, threatening the economy and environment.

The infestation is expected to kill about eighty percent of the mature pine forests in British Columbia.

Outline• To educate British Columbians on the astonishing impact of the mountain pine beetle on our forests

•To discuss the negative impacts of the mountain pine beetle

•To offer my conclusions

•To share my references

The ImpactForestry has played a significant and critical role in British

Columbia’s economy for over one hundred years. During normal economic conditions, each year it generates about 18 billion dollars

of product, adds 4 billion dollars to Government revenue, and employs more than 200,000 people provincially. The impact of the

mountain pine beetle infestation is immeasurable. The timber supply in affected areas has decreased. This, in turn, will have significant economic and social implications to both the forest

industry and forest-dependent communities in the interior. When sawmills shut down, communities often become ghost towns. When work is gone, workers have to look for new places of employment – often outside of their present community. Moreover, when families leave towns, schools and small businesses do not have the clientele

to continue. More lives are consequently affected.

Great problems require great imagination and creativity. People in British Columbia have tried to make the best of this astonishingly difficult

situation. Some cut the infected trees to slow the spread of the disease. Others control the fire threat that comes from large stands of dead

lodgepole pine. Still others try to maximize the economic value of the standing timber. This blue stained “denim” wood is also utilized to build

beautiful, unique furniture. There will be a temporary increase in economic activity for affected communities as dead trees are harvested

before they decay and lose their commercial value. Beetle-damaged wood retains its structural strength and other properties for between five to eighteen years. In addition, young trees will be gathered before they

are infested. Sooner or later, however, the mountain pine beetle must be managed in other ways – such as pheromone baiting which lures beetles

into a single area where they can be more easily exterminated.

Looking into the future, it is expected that forestry activity in British Columbia will decrease significantly. Communities that once depended upon the environment for eco-tourism and hunting and fishing practices will be affected - the destruction of wildlife habitat and the bruising of British Columbia’s beauty because of stands of dead trees. Who wants to hike through a forest of dead trees ?

With the mountain pine beetles infecting or killing many of British Columbia’s lodgepole pine trees, the environment is affected. The trees are dying at such a quick and vast rate that not all can be salvaged. Many dead trees remain standing in the forest. After a tree dies and transpiration ceases, it dries out. The tree becomes vulnerable to fire. Beginning with dead timber, once the fire grows, it can attack healthy tree species in the forest. So, it would seem reasonable and even wise to harvest all the infected trees quickly. That, however, is not the case. The interconnectedness of the natural world means that harvesting trees has an impact on other living things.

Pine cones feed many small animals and birds in the forest. The death of pine trees creates a chain reaction. The smaller animals that eat pine cones and pine needles are a food source for large animals such as bobcats, wolves, and wolverines. With diminutive species leaving to find new food sources as the pine cones disappear, the predators will also have to leave their normal habitat in search of food. This creates stress and imbalance in British Columbia’s forests.

Trees play a significant role in soil stability and water retention in any forest and the surrounding communities. Surplus water on the ground is absorbed by tree roots and then stored. Without this natural process occurring, water levels increase rapidly whenever a storm occurs. This has implications for flooding in areas which traditionally have not experienced overflowing rivers, streams and creeks. Humans, businesses and homes are therefore vulnerable.

Trees are a part of the water cycle too when they assist in evaporation through a process called transpiration. This refers to the process whereby water is absorbed through the roots, moved through the tree and evaporated out of the needles. In areas with trees killed by beetles, there is little transpiration because the trees are dead. Moreover, eventually the needles fall off of the dead tree and there is no longer a canopy cover for the forest. This is particularly a problem during winter. When snow falls, there will be fewer branches and needles to catch snow and to shade the snow on the forest floor. The snow will melt earlier in the spring and make the annual water volumes of our rivers, streams and creeks higher.

People are drawn to British Columbia’s stunning landscapes and ecological diversity. Tourists from all over the world move to B.C. to visit, attend school, as well as take up residence. As the forests are destroyed by the mountain pine beetle, public perspective is impacted. The lush, green forests look spotted with live tree stands among the brown and dead, as well as indiscriminate cut blocks no longer hidden from the public’s eye. Beautiful British Columbia is becoming bruised and there may not be many areas left untouched by beetle infestation and tree-salvage. Tourism is a 13 billion dollar industry in British Columbia. Is it another potential victim of the mountain pine beetle ?

There are approximately 103 First Nations communities in the interior of British Columbia that are located in areas affected by the mountain pine beetle. The beetles are changing their lives too. These peoples lived sustainably for thousands of years by surviving solely off the land by hunting, trapping, fishing, and harvesting crops. Devastated by colonialism, their ways of life are being critically impacted by the mountain pine beetle as well. The quickly decreasing supply of available timber following a period of salvaging mountain pine beetle- affected forests is changing ecosystems and stripping habitat from animals that have traditionally been a main food source. The loss of forest cover will cause more silting to happen in rivers that damages salmon spawning grounds and therefore concusses the salmon population. Salmon have always played a significant role in the lives of interior First Peoples. The potential of this loss is distressing.

ConclusionIf global warming continues to happen at present rates, the mountain pine beetles will spread more freely and eventually affect all of British Columbia’s lodgepole pine forests. Already moving into the Grand Prairie region of Alberta, it may continue to spread all over the country. In addition, the economy will continue to be impacted because the impact of the mountain pine beetle on forests and forestry. The 185 million dollar Northern Development Initiative Trust (with 32 million dollars set aside specifically for mountain pine beetle recovery projects) and the 50 million dollar Southern Interior Development Initiative Trust have been created to help communities pursue more options to support economic growth and to create new jobs. Many towns dependent on forestry have created regional groups to help plan out long term economic sustainability. A manmade solution to this problem is critical as nature’s rhythms have been disturbed by human industry. The same ingenuity that invented the internal combustion engine must now be employed to hold back the scourge of the mountain pine beetle.

Referenceshttps://www2.viu.ca/forestry/Careers/Forestry-in-BC.asp

http://www.bcchamber.org/advocacy/policy/provincial_gov/forests future_of_the_forest_industry.html

http://www.forrex.org/sites/default/files/publications/jem_archive/ISS51/vol10_no2_art12.pdf

http://www.norsemathology.org/longa/classes/ClimateChange/BorealForestPests/Ku076.pdf

http://www.cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/pubwarehouse/pdfs/25159.pdf#page=47

http://www.jstor.org/stable/30243127

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378112709000838

http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=8569672/uploads/2009/02/environmental-impacts-report-final.pdf

Referenceshttp://www.cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/pubwarehouse/pdfs/25048.pdf

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/beetle-killed-trees-create-widespread-fire-hazard/article11175411/

http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/abs/10.1139/X09-049#.U0WMpW1vaDc

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1389934106001298

http://www.sibacs.com/wp-content