I came across an interesting article on the mountain pine beetle (MPB) in the Globe and Mail newspaper from March 25, 2008 (After feast on B.C. forest, pine beetles face famine). It comments that the MPB has basically decimated the lodgepole pine forests in the BC interior. Having eaten themselves out of house and home, their populations should naturally decline in the next three to five years. This would bring the MPB down to normal levels ending the current threat. Is it really that simple?

I wouldn’t be so sure. True, MPB populations in the B.C. interior may be on a natural decline. However, the current outbreak has moved the beetle to fresh sources of food. A lull now may be a shift in location for their next buffet meal. Lodgepole pine grows throughout B.C., including northern regions with documented MPB activity. Ponderosa pine is abundant in southern BC and also has a history of MPB attack. Cross the Rocky Mountains and we encounter Alberta’s lodgepole pine forests, already undergoing MPB containment. We have also seen the spread of MPB to lodgepole-jack pine hybrid trees growing in western and central Alberta. A further jump to pure jack pine is not out of the question, but research on this is still required. If MPB can move to jack pine, the boreal forest from Alberta to Quebec is potentially at risk. Also, the successful, yet sporadic, MPB attacks on hybrid spruce in the B.C. interior are another concern. Are we in the early stages of a host switch or is this spill over from epidemic populations of MPB? Finally climate and environmental conditions are going to play a big role. A few mild winters in these new areas and we are ripe for a fresh MPB population increase.

Now, I also wouldn’t say the sky is falling. Alberta and B.C. provincial bodies are aggressively working to contain further MPB spread. There are also many unknowns in MPB movement to these new food sources. Factors such as beetle health, fungal growth, tree health, and environmental conditions all play into the beetle’s success. I would rather comment that we need to remain vigilant against a major MPB resurgence. A combination of constant monitoring, active containment, and continual cutting edge research is our best bet at managing the continued MPB threat.

Additional information on some of the topics in this blog can be found at:

Canadian Silviculture, Fall 2007. FOREST HEALTH: Eating Themselves Out of House and Home: Mountain Pine Beetle Attack Spruce!

B.C. Ministry of Forests and Range. Emergency Bark Beetle Management Area and Strategic Planning Maps.

Alberta Sustainable Resource Development. Mountain Pine Beetle in Alberta.