cut tree

[lostone]

I went camping this weekend and I wont have the film back for a few days, but I noticed that A LOT of pine tree's up where I camp have had two rings cut in them about 18" off of the ground and into the tree about 3/4" all around the tree, all of the trees that had this also had some sort of boring insect into them so my guess is it was done to kill the tree while the insects where inside of it (I dont know why) anyway the hole the insects where making where about the size of a pencil lead and there would be several hundred holes like that in a 10' length of the tree (once I get the film back I will scan it and put a photo up) why would they cut the tree when the insects are in it? once the tree died wouldn't that just cause the insect to migrate to another living tree or would the insect larva need the tree to be alive to make it so by killing the tree you help stop the numbers of new insect? It is obvious that they have been fighting this battle for a long time cause there are tree's all over there that have died and lost the bark but are still standing or either hung up (a bunch of them) into other trees with these cuts in them.

 

[pbtree]

Where were you camping?

 

[Ekka]

Sounds like mismanagement to me.

If the trees are getting hammer by pine beetle borers etc then they need to be removed, ring barking them and leaving them is not solving anything.

Doesn't make sense unless they're experimenting or something. But leaving dead pine trees around isn't smart either, especially near campers.

I like your curiosity and it would be good to email some pics with a note to the relevent authority questioning them as to what's going on. :Eye:

Very interesting.

 

[lostone]

Where were you camping?

Up above Kamas Utah (mirror lake highway), at about 8200' but I have noticed that this is happening in several places as well, but not to the extent it was there, you could walk into a place and everywhere you turned nothing but tree's with bore holes in them as far as you could see, it was bad.

 

[pbtree]

It is discouraging. I am in southern California. and up around Arrowhead and Big Bear lake they have quite a problem with beetles and dying trees...

 

[lostone]

Whats the deal with boring beetles anyway, have they always been around and just not the problem they are now? or have they been introduced into the US from another country somehow?

 

[pbtree]

I have heard both stories - and there are more than one variety out there from what I have been told.

the recent warm winters and droughts have exacerbated the problem...

 

[treeseer]

Droughts yes and also pollution weaken tree defenses.

 

[lostone]

Droughts yes and also pollution weaken tree defenses.

We are just now starting to come out of a 5 or 6 year drought cycle, this is the first year that we have gotten are average snow fall, hopefully this will help the trees out.