Pine Beetle Infestation Sweeping Across Western U.S. and Canada

In the largest recorded insect infestation in North America, pine beetles have destroyed 33 million acres of lodgepole pine forest in British Columbia and have killed several million acres of pine trees in the U.S. Rocky Mountains, The New York Times reports. The plague of black, hard-shelled beetles continues to spread in large measure because rising temperatures mean fewer hard frosts are killing the insects, scientists say. Wyoming and Colorado have lost 2.5 million acres of pine forest in the past two years and are expected to lose another 2 million acres this year. In the next five years, Colorado is expected to see another 5 million acres of pine trees destroyed, creating a huge fire risk. Resort operators also are concerned that mountainsides blanketed with dead trees will drive away customers. The beetles are killing not only lodgepole pines but also ponderosa and white-barked pines. Other regions of North America, including Alaska, have seen millions of acres of spruce trees destroyed because of similar infestations related to rising temperatures.