Pine Beetles - the Afghanistan of Alberta

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Sometimes governments need a good target, even if it isn't the right one.  The attack of Afghanistan by the U.S. is one example;  another is the Alberta Government's use of the threat of the pine beetle as an excuse to clear-cut the eastern slopes of Kananaskis.

Oh, that's right.  They also use the threat of forest fires.  It's true you can't argue the fact that without forests, there would be no forest fires OR pine beetles.  It seems a little extreme though.  Ted Morton, Alberta's Minister of Sustainable Development, has allocated $50 million of extra emergency funding to fight the beetle and he insists that going ahead with the Spray Lakes Sawmills deal to cut down 1600 hectares of trees EACH YEAR in eastern Kananaskis is an essential part of beetle control.  But is it?

 Dr. Ralph Cartar, a faculty member of the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Calgary, doesn't think so.  Neither does his colleague, Dr. Mary Reid, of the Environment Science Program, who just happens to specialize in the bark (or pine) beetle.  The May 14, 2007 edition of The Calgary Herald includes an article on the editorial page by Dr. Cartar that summarizes his scientific opinion. 

The beetle has had a devastating impact on B.C. forests but, Dr. Cartar believes the threat is greatly exaggerated in Alberta.  First, he says, our forests have smaller lodgepole pines.  Pine beetles prefer big ones.  Secondly, winters on the eastern side of the Rocky Mountains are colder.  Pine beetles prefer the B.C. climate.

We wouldn't be very happy losing one-third of our mature trees in a beetle outbreak, says Dr. Cartar, but it wouldn't all be as bad as everyone seems to think.  The remaining trees would probably grow faster, the dead trees would provide essential habitat for "a wealth of dead wood-loving biodiversity" and other trees, such as spruce, poplar, fir and aspen, would benefit.  He points to Waterton Lakes National Park as an example, where almost one-half of the pines were wiped out by beetles in the 1980s.  Its forests are as beautiful as ever.

One wonders why the Alberta Government can't hear what the scientists are saying.  Forest fires and pine beetles are not good enough reasons to destroy a much-loved recreational area.