Beetle Kill Fun Facts

Today's spotlight on CSU luncheon focused on the much heated topic of the Rocky Mountain Pine Beetle. These little devils are causing quite a mess in our lodge pole pine population. Here are some not so fun facts related to the epidemic.....

- There are currently 1.5mm acres of infested trees in Colorado. This pales in comparison to the 30mm acres of infected and dead trees in British Columbia.

- 2007 there were roughly 5.2mm trees killed by the disease.

- The cost to clean up the remains (dead trees) is $500-$1000/acre. That's a $750,000,000 opportunity (using the $500/acre number) for Colorado forestry business.

- Preventative measures can be sought after and applied for $10-$15/tree.

-The dead tree timber, despite its blue color tone from the residual beetle fungus, has no structural change and is perfectly suitable for use if culled within 2 years of death.