Colorado Beetle Kill Wood as a Resource

Originally, my focus and research for this article was on beetle kill wood as a building resource.  It seemed that beetle kill wood was turning up in the construction industry as structural members, flooring, cabinets as well as unique furniture.   At first glance, it seemed like a good idea to utilize this source of lumber.  But as I investigated the subject further, it became evident to me that extracting, milling and/or preparing beetle kill lumber can be problematic.  Furthermore, the subject of the bark beetle epidemic is riddled with many political, economic and environmental issues.

We are all aware of the devastation the bark beetle has wreaked on Colorado forests either by witnessing it first hand or hearing about it on the local news.  In 2011 the U.S. Forest Service responded with a 6 year strategy that focuses on human safety, forest recovery and long term resiliency.  Although, the conclusion as reported from the U.S. forest service is that, since 1996 when there were the first signs of an outbreak, the epidemic has expanded and infestations have accelerated exponentially.  Fighting this epidemic and controlling the spread of the bark beetle is of the highest priority.  Removing dying or dead egg infested trees is part of this strategy.

But, before we can move on to a discussion of how to extract the millions of dead and dying pine trees in Colorado, let’s look at whether utilizing Colorado beetle kill lumber in the construction industry is a good idea.  Canada is our leading lumber competitor.  First of all, the trees in Canada generally are larger diameter than our Colorado trees, which makes it easier to mill larger lumber units.  Also, the Canadian lumber and milling industry is also much more developed than our own.  Canada has been milling beetle kill lumber for many years already.  With that said it seems doubtful that extracting and milling Colorado beetle kill lumber is a gainful economic venture.  As a matter of fact, a lot of beetle kill lumber being used in Colorado is from Canada. 

No matter whether we can utilize the dead trees for lumber, fuel or not, these “hazard trees” need to be cleared. Obviously dead, dry trees are a fire risk.  Dead trees are also at risk of falling on hikers and other outdoor enthusiasts.  Yet the greatest concern is the general health of our forests.  The mission is to regain control the bark beetle epidemic by eliminating infected trees, clearing forest floor of debris and thinning the forests. 

The Colorado Rockies are rugged and portions of the wilderness are not easily reachable. Thus access to downed trees can be challenging.  More roads could be constructed but that also has its issues. Two questions come up right away:  1) where do we get the revenue to build roads so as to clear millions of dead trees? and 2) what is the environmental impact of building more roads? 

It is obvious that this problem is underfunded.  The forest service has recently issued contracts totaling about $13.4 million to focus on converting the dead trees into some lumber, wood pellets and other biomass products.  These contracts treat about 20,000 acres, which is a small portion relative to the total infestation.  This issue is struggling politically to get the attention it requires.

The bark beetle has been around for a long time.  It is the change in climate that has allowed the populations to explode.  In the past the cold winter temperatures were enough to destroy the eggs that are lying dormant in the pine trees until spring.  The environmental impact of global warming is a worldwide issue worthy of a much more comprehensive discussion.  I more local and specific environmental problem is how do we extract the vast numbers of infected pine trees with as little natural impact as possible?  Do we destroy trees in place or remove them?  I am not sure we have answered these questions.   

 

It is clear to me that I am barely touching on a very complicated and overwhelming problem.  The winter of 2012-2013 has thus far been both very dry and warm.  Under these conditions bark beetles normally flourish. 

It appears the bark beetle epidemic has hit a point of crisis. 

My goal was to investigate whether it made sense to use beetle kill lumber as a building material.  What I unraveled was a problem way beyond this simple discussion.  It no longer makes sense to me to talk about beetle kill lumber.  What I will follow up with is another blog post regarding the epidemic itself; the actions of the forest service and our politicians, in addition to the studies of our scientist and ecologists.