National News

Forest Service seeks more funds after using $40 million to fight bark beetles

Wednesday, 24 November 2010 14:31

Federal overseers of Rocky Mountain forests said Monday that they've spent $40 million in emergency funds sent from Washington, D.C., to deal with the bark beetles that have ravaged more than 3.6 million acres. But much of this selective tree-removal work — aimed at reducing wildfire risks around towns, power lines and reservoirs — has yet to be done. And regional Forest Service officials now are seeking additional funding for aggressive tree removal next year.

Old Trees May Soon Meet Their Match

Monday, 27 September 2010 14:31

GREAT BASIN NATIONAL PARK, Nev. — For millenniums, the twisted, wind-scoured bristlecone pines that grow at the roof of western North America have survived everything nature could throw at them, from bitter cold to lightning to increased solar radiation. Living in extreme conditions about two miles above sea level, they have become the oldest trees on the planet. The oldest living bristlecone, named Methuselah, has lived more than 4,800 years.

NASA satellites reveal surprising connection between beetle attacks, wildfire

Wednesday, 08 September 2010 14:41

If your summer travels have taken you across the Rocky Mountains, you've probably seen large swaths of reddish trees dotting otherwise green forests. While it may look like autumn has come early to the mountains, evergreen trees don't change color with the seasons. The red trees are dying, the result of attacks by mountain pine beetles. Mountain pine beetles are native to western forests, and they have evolved with the trees they infest, such as lodgepole pine and whitebark pine trees. However, in the last decade, warmer temperatures have caused pine beetle numbers to skyrocket. Huge areas of red, dying forest now span from British Columbia through Colorado, and there's no sign the outbreak is slowing in many areas.

Udall Beetle Bill Wins Key Committee Approval

Sunday, 08 August 2010 14:41

WASHINGTON, D.C.— Today, U.S. Senator Mark Udall's effort to help Colorado fight the bark beetle epidemic saw a key victory when his bill, the National Forest Insect and Disease Emergency Act, won approval by the Senate's Energy and National Resources Committee. The bill provides the U.S. Forest Service with additional resources and authority to treat areas affected by bark beetles and other insect-related problems.

Udall will badger Senate for more wildfire funds

Thursday, 01 July 2010 14:41

Sen. Mark Udall, D-Colo., told reporters Wednesday that he is angry that little of the $30 million the federal government promised for fighting wildfires in Colorado and Wyoming this year has yet to arrive in the state. "It's hot and dry and we have millions of acres of bark beetle-killed trees that could burn," Udall said.

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