May 6, 2007 7:24 pm US/Mountain
Pine Beetle Forces Dillon To Cut Hundreds Of Trees
by Andrea Lopez
DILLON, Colo. (CBS4) ―
The town of Dillon plans to cut down hundreds of trees this spring to try to fight the invasion of pine beetles.
Dillon parks have been hit very hard by the pine beetle. The town plans to spend $35,000 by the end of spring for just cutting down all the infected trees.
They hope to have all the work done by the end of June, before the beetle flies. Right now is the time the beetles are burrowing and developing under the bark of the trees.
The town has identified 600 infected trees and marked them to be cut down. Last year Dillon removed 165 trees from town property.
They also sprayed healthy trees with a repellant, but that was not as successful as they had hoped. In 2005, the town sprayed 500 trees and saw an 85 percent success rate, but the beetle problem is getting worse.
The town of Frisco is also joining in the fight against the pine beetle by teaming up with homeowners. They have identified more the 1,500 infected trees on private property. They have marked those trees and have given homeowners until May 18 to cut them down.
The beetle infestation is spreading so fast that last year, Dillon identified four times as many infected trees as the year before.
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