Beetles kill fewer trees in West, but more at higher elevations

A pine beetle outbreak that has left many Western states with vast stands of dead and dying trees has eased for the second consecutive year, the U.S. Forest Service said Monday. With fewer trees left for the beetles to eat, officials said a 2011 aerial survey recorded beetle-killed trees on 3.8 million acres of public and private land. That's down by more than half from 2009, when about 9 million acres with dead trees were tallied. But the good news is tempered by more trees dying at higher elevations as beetles take advantage of warm winters to gain a new foothold, said Robert Mangold, the Forest Service's acting associate deputy chief for research and development. And with trees on roughly 42 million acres killed by various beetles since 2000, it could take decades for some forests to fully recover. Beetle outbreaks can lead to more intense wildfires and hurt timber companies by making some trees unsuitable to harvest. Montana recorded the most beetle kill acreage in 2011, with dead trees across almost one million acres. Idaho, Colorado, Wyoming and Oregon also had significant losses...more