Like a spruce beetle, I like my trees old

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Published on Thursday, 17 October 2019 07:04
Written by editor
Like a spruce beetle, I like my trees old r1 ... View this e-mail in your browser. Just north of Prince George, B.C., forests are tinged with the telltale red of spruce beetles. Unlike the pine beetle, which will attack an entire tract of forest, killing virtually every tree, spruce beetles are typically only attracted to older spruce trees in diverse forests.

Spruce beetles are selective.

Logging companies? Less so.

B.C. is currently experiencing an epidemic of spruce beetle — the largest in 30 years.

But, while scientists say the surest way to recover the ecosystem is to allow resilient trees to fend of the attack, logging companies are ramping up clear cutting in affected areas. The Narwhal sent reporter Sarah Cox and photographer Taylor Roades to see the areas affected by the beetle — and by the logging — first hand.

If you've been a Narwhal reader for a while now, you know the result of sending those two on the road is a stunning, in-depth feature (that will maybe make your blood boil).

So much more for you this week. Read on and enjoy!

Emma Gilchrist
Editor-in-Chief

P.S. Thanks to all of you who shared our Tulsequah Chief mine photoessay from last week. You're a bunch of gems!

P.P.S. If you're still trying to sort through the federal election platforms, check out our handy explainer on all things environment.

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