An expanding army of insects is eating away at U.S. forests

[rangerrebew]

An expanding army of insects is eating away at U.S. forests
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By Karen Graham     16 hours ago in Environment
Insects, both native and those brought into the country, are draining the life out of the nation's forests. Global trade, a warming climate, and drought-damaged trees have helped insects to become one of the greatest threats to biodiversity in the U.S.

The Hemlock woolly adelgid is just one of a growing number of insects draining the life out of forests from New England to the West Coast of the United States.

Scientists say insects are already driving some tree species to extinction and causing billions of dollars a year in damages — and the problem is expected to only get worse. "They are one of the few things that can actually eliminate a forest tree species in pretty short order — within years," said Harvard University ecologist David Orwig, according to the Associated Press.

Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/news/environment/an-expanding-army-of-insects-is-eating-away-at-usa-forests/article/481221#ixzz4SFNQgJ8v

[rangerrebew]

This all hogwash!  According to our beloved POTUS, global warming is a far more serious problem which will destroy all trees within 50 years anyway.

[Cripplecreek]

My county was under quarantine for a while due to the emerald ash borer. We weren't supposed to take firewood outside the county for a while.

When we went to the upper peninsula they weren't allowing any wood across the bridge.

[Joe Wooten]

My county was under quarantine for a while due to the emerald ash borer. We weren't supposed to take firewood outside the county for a while.

When we went to the upper peninsula they weren't allowing any wood across the bridge.

About half of my wooded property WAS ash trees. Now I have a several year supply of firewood for the woodburner supplemental furnace in the basement. The borer has just about wiped out all the ash trees in Northern Illinoisy. I told the Will County Ag folks 10 years ago I thought I had a borer infestation, and they ignored me.

[Smokin Joe]

About half of my wooded property WAS ash trees. Now I have a several year supply of firewood for the woodburner supplemental furnace in the basement. The borer has just about wiped out all the ash trees in Northern Illinoisy. I told the Will County Ag folks 10 years ago I thought I had a borer infestation, and they ignored me.

Trees have a lifespan, during which they are either harvested, destroyed, or succumb to old age, weather, and the various critters that kill trees.

Unfortunately, the bent is on 'preservation', not management of the resource, and as long as that is the focus, the resource will suffer. Once again the effort to preserve dynamic systems in stasis is a failure.

[Suppressed]

This all hogwash!  According to our beloved POTUS, global warming is a far more serious problem which will destroy all trees within 50 years anyway.

You might have missed the part where warming climates encourage insect expansion.

[Joe Wooten]

I got really pissed off at the Chicoms last year when they fined my company for sending equipment in wood crates that had no certifications that the wood was pest free. Someone then remembered that the emerald ash borer came from China in improperly treated crates made from ash wood. That wood carried faked certifications of being pest free.......

[Joe Wooten]

Trees have a lifespan, during which they are either harvested, destroyed, or succumb to old age, weather, and the various critters that kill trees.

Unfortunately, the bent is on 'preservation', not management of the resource, and as long as that is the focus, the resource will suffer. Once again the effort to preserve dynamic systems in stasis is a failure.

No problem with that. Before the borer infestation I was able to take down 2-3 big trees a year that had died, enough to have a decent sized rack of firewood every winter. Now I have over 100 dead trees waiting for me to get to them. Two of the trees I took down this summer were over 80 years old.

[rangerrebew]

You might have missed the part where warming climates encourage insect expansion.

By golly, I did miss that.