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The Dying Lodgepole Pines in Colorado
By PK | September 24, 2008
I’m sure everyone has noticed in every picture I take and publish on this website of landscape, there are ‘red trees’ in the photograph. It’s hard to focus in on just the perfect spot so that I eliminate the majority of the ‘red trees’. In some areas, it’s an impossible feat. I can’t help but forecast what these majestic mountains will look like after the complete infestation occurs from the mountain pine beetle as I gaze upon them. It will be sad to see the Rocky Mountains stripped and bare without the lodgepole pines and there is nothing that can be done.
Every large, mature lodgepole pine forest in Colorado and southern Wyoming will be dead within 3 to 5 years, killed by a mountain pine beetle infestation unprecedented in the state. State and federal foresters are calling the numbers “catastrophic”.
Century old lodgepole pines at the highest elevations, once deemed impregnable because of the extremely cold temperatures, are also dying.
Grand County is one of the hardest hit counties in Colorado, where the mountain pine beetle ravaged the forest. Most of the host trees are already dead.
Lodgepole stands can be found from 6,000 to 11,000 feet elevation in Colorado. They thrive in the aftermath of a forest fire, producing pine cones that open in response to extreme heat and release their seeds. The cones remain viable for decades. But it will take decades for the stands to return once the infestation is done.
Lodgepoles can live for centuries, with 300-year old trees recorded at high altitudes in Colorado. But at the age of 80, trees become more susceptible to disease.
Lodgepoles are tall, but slender, growing 70 to 80 feet high and not usually more than 15 inches in diameter.
The greatest stake, as these tall lodgepole trees die, are the state’s water supplies. A lack of soil cover and the potential of forest fires as the dying trees dry out could leave the reservoirs and rivers clogged with sediment.
Hikers, campers, and skiers are faced with the hazards of falling trees.
Many years ago, Native Americans used the lodgepole pines for lodge and teepee supports. Today, lodgepole pines are used primarily for fencing, utility poles, railroad ties, construction lumber and house logs.
I’ve read many opinions on what to do by Coloradans from bringing in lumber companies to having controlled burn offs. But the end result is the same, the trees will be gone.
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Topics: Colorado |
