e360 digest
18 Jun 2009:
Pine Beetle Infestation
Threatens Water Source for U.S. Southwest
The destruction of 2.5 million acres of Rocky Mountain forest because of a pine beetle infestation could threaten the water supplies of 33 million people, according to the U.S. Forest Service. Rick Cables, chief forester for the Rocky Mountain region, told a congressional committee that the dead and dying forest at the headwaters of the Colorado River could burn extensively and reduce water supplies to residents in Los Angeles, San Diego, Phoenix, and Tucson, Ariz. Roughly 25 percent of the water piped to these cities originates in national forests in the Rockies that have suffered extensive damage from infestations of pine bark beetles, Cables said. He said that the loss of the trees and subsequent wildfires would “literally bake the soil” and lead to excessive runoff and rapid snowmelt, both of which reduce flow to the Colorado River. The fires also could destroy reservoirs, pipes, and other infrastructure, Cables said. Outbreaks of pine beetles — which scientists attribute to warmer winters that fail to kill beetle larvae — have destroyed 8 million acres of trees in the western U.S. and 22 million acres in Canada.
Yale Environment 360 is
a publication of the
Yale School of Forestry
& Environmental Studies.
DEPARTMENTS
OpinionReports
Analysis
Interviews
e360 Digest
TOPICS
BiodiversityBusiness & Innovation
Climate
Energy
Forests
Oceans
Policy & Politics
Pollution & Health
Science & Technology
Sustainability
Water
REGIONS
Antarctica and the ArcticAfrica
Asia
Australia
Central & South America
Europe
Middle East
North America
ABOUT
About e360Contact
Submission Guidelines
Reprints
CONNECT
BookmarkEmail newsletter
Twitter: YaleE360
e360 on Facebook
Share e360
Subscribe to our feed:
Top Image: aerial view of Iceland. © Google & TerraMetrics.
OF INTEREST
