The Mountain Pine Beetle: A real and present danger.
Collectively we have known about the risks and dangers that the Mountain Pine Beetle (MPB) has presented to our pine forests for years. The current outbreak is thought to have started in British Columbia during the late 1990s and has been made worse by milder winters and warmer summers.
For a creature that around five millimeters long it certainly packs a punch millions of pine trees have died, millions more are dying and yet more remain to be infected as the beetle spreads east and I’ve heard north too.
Dead and dying pine trees are perfect fuel for devastating wildfires. Right now, the MPB is in Jasper National Park and looks set to cross further into Alberta and it’s waiting pine forests. With wildfire season for 2018 mere months away and the first part of the winter looking to be mild then there is little time left to act.
Yellowhead MP Jim Eglinski has been calling for action posing this question in the House on Nov. 3, “Mr. Speaker, I rise in the House once again to ask the Minister of Natural Resources about his plans to stop the pine beetle from attacking our forests. Last year alone, the beetle increased ten-fold. Even though science and research has been done, the beetle has moved from Jasper Park into central Alberta and is heading east. All of Canada’s pine forests are at risk. We need financial assistance to cull the trees. What is the Liberal government doing to stop this infestation?”
Ms. Kim Rudd, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources, responded:
“Mr. Speaker, we understand the critical importance of forestry to the economies of eastern and western Canada, as a source of jobs, prosperity, and opportunity. We are acutely aware of the threat that forest pests, like the mountain pine beetle, emerald ash borer, and spruce bud worm, pose to Canada’s forests. In budget 2016, we invested $87 million to support scientific research and infrastructure, including funding to combat destructive forest pests, such as spruce bud worm and mountain pine beetle. We are working closely with our partners, provinces, universities, and industry, all with a common goal of finding a solution to this problem.”
For those that follow government and politics the response is familiar rhetoric, which may yet come back to haunt the Minister. Previously in the House on October 27, MP Eglinski called for action from Parks Canada, “Mr. Speaker, companies like Weyerhaeuser, Millar Western, and West Fraser, which are lumber companies in my riding, spent millions of dollars trying to combat the pine beetle as it slowly crept in from the park. We tried to work with the park for the last two years. We have had meetings. I have held meetings and round table discussions. We had park officials, CFS officials, as well as representatives of Alberta forestry attend. Parks Canada continually told us it was going to try to cull the trees and do some burns within Jasper National Park. I was just there a few weeks ago and nothing had been done yet.”
In MP Eglinski’s release said, “In her response, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources acknowledged that the situation has become “troubling”. She said Parks Canada is monitoring both beetle expansion and other forest-health related risks in the national Rocky Mountain Parks, but she neglected to expand on any meaningful measures to control the beetle.”
We do know that there have been reports that the people of Jasper are fearful of a wildfire because of all the trees killed and damaged by MPBs.
We contacted Parks Canada and asked some questions. Michaela E. Campbell public relations and communications officer, Jasper National Park Parks Canada responded.
Q: What specific actions is Parks Canada taking this winter in Jasper National Park regarding the Mountain Pine Beetle and the dead, dying and deadfall trees that it’s caused?
A: “Parks Canada works closely with the province of Alberta, the Canadian Forest Service, regional and municipal governments and other stakeholders on mountain pine beetle management. This is a regional challenge that has migrated eastward across the Rocky Mountains from British Columbia to Alberta, and Jasper National Park is just one of many jurisdictions impacted by it.
A mountain pine beetle working group was formed in April 2015 between Parks Canada (Jasper National Park), Natural Resources Canada (NRCAN)/Northern Forestry Centre and Government of Alberta (Alberta Agriculture and Forestry), to oversee mountain pine beetle management in Jasper National Park. The working group agreed that Parks Canada, the Government of Alberta and NRCAN would work together on surveillance and development of an action plan. Since then, Parks Canada has completed and circulated the Mountain
Pine Beetle Management Plan with input from NRCAN and Alberta. Parks Canada continues to work with NRCAN and Alberta on the implementation of this plan.
The Jasper National Park Mountain Pine Beetle Management Plan uses accepted approaches to combat mountain pine beetle, including prescribed fires (contained, intentionally lit fires), single/multiple tree removal and strategic patch removal by mechanical means. It should be noted that prescribed fires are only conducted under exacting conditions (e.g. weather, moisture, wind direction, supporting resources, etc.) and will only go forward when the safety of the public, our crews, park infrastructure and neighbouring lands can be assured.
Parks Canada is also working with the Municipality of Jasper to reduce fuels adjacent to the community. Wildfire risk reduction is important for all communities located in forested ecosystems. Over the past decade, a great deal of work has been completed to thin over 730 hectares of forest around the community.
This winter will see a continuation of that work and an increase in tree removal in forested lands lying upwind of the Municipality of Jasper.”