Hartsel, CO – I was in the Colorado mountains at the Ranch of the Rockies this weekend.  Very little sign of mountain pine little activity.  Hartsel borders Pike and San Isabel national forests, forests not predicted to be a beetle  hotspot in 2010.  We treated  fifty high profile trees at the front entrance of the Ranch of the Rockies in early July because a pine had been hit.  I did see more  beetle hit trees along 285 in Evergreen, CO,  compared to last year, 2009.

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Deadwood, SD - Reports are that the beetle infestation is worse than 2009. Target areas for the USFS prevention strategy, dubbed the Nautilus Project, are in the Black Hills National Forest. Ninety percent of  Custer’s  Peak is dead, fueling fears of a Colorado-type epidemic.  Forest thinning will be aggressive is Nautilus is implemented. More about Black Hills beetle prevention.

Medicine Hat, Alberta – Mountain pine beetle died off in a spring cold snap, giving government officials, lumber workers and tourism boosters hope of a lessening population of beetle.  The numbers appear to be at 2007 levels with the exception of areas in northern Alberta and along the British Columbia border.  The prediction was based on sampling of 1,266 pine trees, from 229 infested sites.

Crowsnest Pass, Alberta – “Beetle survival was low and there is a ‘low probability of local beetle production and spread.  However, there is an extremely high probability of in-flights this summer,’  according to the Prairie Post. More about mountain pine beetle die off in Alberta.

Beetle Activity Predicted to Lessen in Crownsnest Pass in Alberta do to spring cold snap.

Crystal Mountain, CO -  Along the ridges, it is dry and trees are getting hit, turning red, and dying off according to arborist and consultant, Jeff Disler.  Crystal Mountain is in the Roosevelt National Forest,  Larimer County, CO above Fort Collins.

In the valleys, it’s a different story.  Pine stands are pulling water from plentiful standing water,  relieving stress. The stands, about evenly split between ponderosa and lodgepole pines seem better able to “kick out tubes”  or fight off a beetle invasion.   A pine with lighter yellow pitch tubes,  is typically less damaged by attack.

There is also engraver beetle activity at Crystal Mountain.