British Columbia now faces the largest infestation of spruce beetles since the 1980s, in the Price George area, according to Revelstoke Review.
The government is fighting to reduce the infestation from the affected area, which has spread from 7,653 hectares in 2013 to 156,000 hectares this spring. Spruce beetles are feeding on the inner bark of fallen and weakened trees, but they can also affect the healthy ones.
As the forests ministry said, "recent weather patterns, including warm springs, dry summers, warm winters and windstorms (resulting in more blowdowns), have contributed to the increase in spruce beetle populations in the region.”
Spruce beetles are normal for this BC area and the government has already set a fund of $1 million for controlling the activities in the area, alongside with the sanitization of logging in the affected areas (the eastern valleys of the Mackenzie timber supply area and the northern part of the Prince George timber supply areas).
The Omineca region holds both areas and has 9 million hectares, out of which 4.7 million are available for logging.
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