Bug and disease infestation in pine, fir and spruce trees in the Northwest is so bad that officials there expect to lose nearly 3 million acres of forest in the next 15 years, according to the Seattle Times. To counter the die-off, the state's commissioner of public lands plans to appoint an emergency panel of scientists and foresters to find solutions to stabilize or reverse the decline.
The primary culprit is the mountain pine beetle, which is spreading rapidly and reaching higher elevations, the Times reported. Other culprits include blister rust, and invasions of western spruce budworm and bark beetles. In short, Washington is now working to "avoid becoming the next Colorado or British Columbia, both of which have seen millions of acres of forest wiped out in recent years by insects," wrote Times reporter Craig Welch.
"If you don't get started doing something soon, it will quickly overwhelm your capacity to respond," Aaron Everett, state forester with the Department of Natural Resources (DNR), told the Times. "I'm certainly not going to sit by and watch it happen here without doing anything."
The full coverage can be read here.
