Alberta Puts C$55 Million Into Pine Beetle Fight
CANADA: May 5, 2008
VANCOUVER, British Columbia - Alberta will spend C$55 million ($54 million)
this year to stem the spread of pine beetles, which have ravaged forests in
neighbouring British Columbia, the Alberta government said Monday.
The money will help remove trees already attacked by the tiny beetles or are
considered at high risk, with the goal of having the infested trees removed
before July when insects take flight.
The insects lay their eggs in ponderosa and lodgepole pines and the larvae
kill the trees by destroying their ability to take in water and nutrients.
The beetles also carry a fungus that stains some of the wood blue.
The decade-old infestation was expected to begin to ebb in British Columbia
as the supply of older pines dwindles, but it has long been feared the
insects will be able to make it east over the Rocky Mountains and into
Alberta.
According to Alberta officials, mountain pine beetles pose a threat to about
15 percent of the western province's forest. Once beetles infest a tree it
cannot be saved, though younger trees are able to use their sap to fight off
infestation.
A report published last month warned the infestation was now so large it
might be contributing to climate change, with the rotting trees releasing
carbon dioxide at an equivalent rate to major forest fires.
($1=$1.01 Canadian)
(Reporting Allan Dowd, editing by Rob Wilson)
REUTERS NEWS SERVICE
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