Mar 21, 2007 10:57 am US/Mountain
Forest Service Once 'Attacked' Pine Beetle Problem
by Paul Day
DENVER (CBS4) ―
One man who worked to save Colorado's forests and trees 50 years ago from a beetle epidemic believes saving the forests is no long a top priority as pine beetles consume an area of the state the size of Rocky Mountain National Park. The government's handling of the problem now is sometimes criticized as too little, too late.
At least 660,000 acres of Colorado pine trees are dead are dying from the current beetle epidemic according to aerial surveys. The government said there's no hope of stopping it.
An old Forest Service documentary shows how the beetles were killed 50 years ago with a mixture of deadly pesticide and fuel oil called "goop." Hundreds of workers were trained to head into the forest and fight the beetles' advance.
Bill Bailey was one of the so-called goopers. His three man team helped spray a million infected trees.
"As far as they forest service was concerned, we practically controlled the infestation at that particular time," said Bailey.
Experts said stopping today's pine beetle epidemic with a 1950's style mobilization is not only impractical, but unthinkable.
"The difference between then and now is that what we do nowadays is we have to be very collaborative," said Kim Vogel, a spokesperson for the Northern Colorado Bark Beetle Cooperative.
Vogel said more people now live in the forest and their attitudes have changed. Recreation is more important than harvesting timber, she said. Environmental laws are also much stricter.
Vogel also pointed out that the old forests have been weakened by prolonged drought, making them ripe for ravaging insects.
"There was no way we're able to affect it," said Vogel
There is limited spraying by the forest service in high value areas to protect healthy trees. Fifty years ago, beetle infested trees were drenched then removed on a massive scale.
"To keep them from spreading and running wild, we must hit insects and disease as promptly and as hard as we hit forest fires," said Bailey.
During the 1950s, beetle control crews bulldozed more than 300 miles of dirt road in Colorado's back country. Much of the area is now protected by laws.
Some critics fear the focus on wildfires these days could make the blazes will get worse in the future as the pine beetle problem takes a back seat now.
(© MMVII CBS Television Stations, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
