Montana: Plant lots of trees, let dead trees be, it makes future forests more diverse, more resilient

Thus far no credible peer reviewed scientific paper has found tree
removal to be an effective way to limit the spread of pine beetle
outbreaks. A friend of mine will be studying this issue further with
many other scientist in Canada this Summer. So more details /
interviews of how this field of study is developing will be
forthcoming.

For now consider the possibility that removing deadwood structures from a forest stand reduces habitat for cavity nesters, arthropods, nematodes, epiphytes and fungus. All of these elements may help to limit / balance the affects of beetle epidemics. Or more simply, with direct orders to remove all dead and dying trees, (see beow) is it any wonder why all the birds that need nests are disappearing? Dead, Dying, and diseased trees are an essential component of a healthy forest ecosystem. To the extent we remove these processes from the forest is the extent to which the forest will have to regenerate these necessary and natural processes anew. –Editor, Forest Policy Research

The mountain pine beetle has invaded Great Falls and residents have until Sunday to dispose of infected trees. The Natural Resource/Forestry Department found 831 trees in Great Falls infected with the mountain pine beetle and tagged them for disposal and destruction. If infected trees aren’t removed and destroyed, these flying pests will flourish by sucking the moisture and the life out of the pine.

“One infected tree can hatch out enough beetles to go infest
up to five to 10 other trees, and in Great Falls we don’t have a lot
of trees and it’s unfortunate that we have to cut down the amount of
trees we did but we’re trying to save the ones that are still left,”
Seymanski said. “One infected tree can hatch out enough beetles to go
infest up to five to 10 other trees, and in Great Falls we don’t have
a lot of trees and it’s unfortunate that we have to cut down the
amount of trees we did but we’re trying to save the ones that are
still left,” Seymanski said.

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