Friday, July 2, 2010

Pine Bark Beetle in BC

The pine trees in our province have been under attack by the Pine Beetle.



 I was almost afraid to go for a walk today in Ellison Provincial Park, which is a popular camping spot about 15 minutes away and my favorite place to go.  Last fall, they began removing beetle kill trees so I worried it would no longer be a forest and would now be a treeless wasteland.                                                                          

I have a few favorite Ponderosa Pines that I always like to visit as they have the most amazing bark.  It fits together like a jigsaw puzzle.  I often wished I could think of an art project that would use the pieces.
                                                                 The previous picture shows how the bark falls off and how much the pieces look like a puzzle.                                            
This red tree is showing damaged bark.                                                                                                                                                                                                  The next picture shows trees marked for removal.                                                            
The final picture shows one of my favorite old trees.  It's been dead a long time and I have no idea what caused it but what an amazing twist to it.  I wonder what caused it to grow that way?
  I didn't just photograph the damaged trees, I will show the rest of the pictures tomorrow as it is a beautiful park.


                                                                                               
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6 comments:

  1. Ruth's Photo BlogJuly 2, 2010 at 6:28 PM

    That twisted tree is quite amazing.
    Blessings,Ruth

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  2. Gary KeimigJuly 3, 2010 at 5:54 AM

    interesting blog that you have going. You are right about the Ponderosa being such an amazing tree. I grew up around them and have always loved them. Where I live now there are no Ponderosas which has always been a mystery to me as not far away there are forests of them. East, north and south but as if there is an island in western Wyoming with no Ponderosas. We have been hit hard by the beetle. There are literally no Whitbrk Pines left in our area which is an importnt food source for many animals including grizzlies.

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  3. Out on the prairieJuly 3, 2010 at 6:04 AM

    Looks like something in the twisted tree genes had a glitch, I have seen this before.You have me thinking about an art project with the bark, perhaps a bird, making bark feathers. It hurts when trees succumb to disease or fire. We have a ash borer they are trying to stop and even with signs not to bring wood in the parks, but to buy it local, people are still doing it.

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  4. jeanlivingsimpleJuly 3, 2010 at 9:43 AM

    It is sad to learn of this problem. Dutch Elm disease wiped out all of the Elms in the SE years ago.:( I love the twisted tree and bark on your pines. They do look like puzzle pieces. I hope the pine beetle is stopped.

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  5. Carole BarkettJuly 3, 2010 at 10:51 AM

    Thanks all for your comments, I'm sorry you've lost your pine Gary did other trees take over yet? I didn't know about the ash border, out on the prairie we have the same problem with people moving wood around and spreading the problem. I like your idea of a bird out of bark.
    I remember hearing about Dutch Elm, what a loss the Elm is such a beautiful tree.

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  6. RichardJuly 4, 2010 at 12:21 PM

    Beautiful tree, waw!

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