Borkenkäfer

Alberta had a good year in its fight against the mountain pine beetles (Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins), thanks to both the weather and to the province’s containment efforts.

One of the major clouds hanging over British Columbia’s economy and forest products industry is uncertainty about the mountain pine beetle epidemic.

To date, the pine beetle has killed an estimated 50% of the province’s mature lodgepole pine.

In a recent economic analysis that focused on the pine beetle epidemic, Central 1 economist Bryan Yu noted that over the past 90 years there have been four or five major mountain pine beetle infestations.