Pitch tubes, which can be seen on the tree’s bark, are a defense mechanism of the tree to try to expel the beetle. The production of resin can sometimes successfully “pitch out” the beetles. (Photo: Natural Resources Canada)
While residents may not have enjoyed Alberta’s unusually cold winter last year, the sustained temperatures of below -30 Celsius are thought to have killed off about 90 per cent of the beetles in the Jasper and Hinton areas. That presents a unique opportunity for the federal and provincial governments to combine their resources to strike hard in 2020 and over the next couple of years.
The funding announced by Natural Resources Canada includes $60 million to the Government of Alberta for forest management and research, $6.9 million to Parks Canada to mitigate the impacts of the mountain pine beetle in the Rocky Mountain National Parks, and $1.5 million to Natural Resources Canada to enhance its core research program.
“The destruction by this beetle disrupts forest management operations, increases wildfire risks, impacts watersheds and jeopardizes sensitive habitats and wildlife — that’s why it’s so important for federal and provincial governments to coordinate things on the ground,” says O’Regan.
The most important and difficult step is detecting newly infested trees. Scientists will use aerial surveys and studies on the ground to detect where the beetles have spread and the potential pathways they might take to spread eastward to Saskatchewan. Much of the focus will be on the eastern edge of the beetles’ spread.
Canadians are experts at aerial surveillance — the minister notes we’ve been conducting aerial surveys since the early 1920s, having recognized the importance of trees — for forestry and recreation, as well as an indicator of the health of the environment — for one hundred years.
“This is an infestation started at B.C. and Alberta and is now moving toward Saskatchewan. It could become a real threat, perhaps, to Ontario. So the federal government has a very real role to play here, working closely with provincial governments which are very close to the ground,” the minister says.
“I’d like to think that if we have the funding and the science and the wherewithal, we can figure this out. It’s devastating for our trees. It’s devastating for the regional economy. It’s devastating for species at risk. It’s devastating for biodiversity.”