Local Issues Visitors to Colorado’s 2nd Congressional District may notice an abundance of red lodgepole pine trees in the mountain communities and wonder why a pine tree would change colors. Unfortunately, Colorado and many other western states have been infested by the Mountain Pine Beetle. The insects, which are about the size of a grain of rice, are responsible for about 2 million acres of infected trees since the outbreak began in 1996. Once a tree is infected by the beetle, it can take up to three years for the tree to die and for its needles to turn from green to red. As the trees die, the wood underneath the bark takes on a blueish tint, known as “blue stain.” Since the beetles know no boundaries, it is critical for communities, various agencies and businesses to work together to help mitigate the effect of the beetles. The beetles can’t be stopped, but we can formulate plans for how we react to the infestation. My office and I have been working closely with the entire Colorado Delegation, our local state representatives, the USFS and community organizations to address this issue. Of critical importance is the protection of the communities surrounded by the infestation due to the increased threat of wildfires. We need to reduce the fuel load of dead trees in the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI, pronounced “woo-wee”) where development and the forests meet. Thinning this zone creates fire breaks so that if a wildfire breaks out, the threat to structures and communities is lessened. Funding for fire mitigation rather than fire fighting has been a challenge for the USFS. Therefore, the House passed the FLAME Act, which separates fire fighting and fire mitigation accounts within the USFS budget. Another solution is to create a market and increase the value of the dead trees and use the wood for blue-stain products such as flooring, siding, and furniture to name a few. The wood can also be utilized as woody biomass in the form of pellets. In order to highlight the importance of the pine beetle issue, I testified at the June 16, 2009 Joint Oversight Hearing on "Mountaintop Pine Beetle: Strategies For Protecting The West", in front of the House Natural Resources Committee on the status of the strategic efforts to mitigate the effects of the pine beetle epidemic. The hearing highlighted the scope of the pine beetle problem and why this most recent outbreak demands the prompt attention of Congressional leaders, the Obama Administration, and state and national lands management officials. During the hearing, current solutions were discussed as well as what is needed to responsibly and effectively mitigate the damages of the outbreak. The challenges that face Colorado communities in developing and implementing these solutions were also cited. We will continue our efforts at the federal level to assist our local communities with the pine beetle infestation as this is an issue critical to our District. Other links: USFS Rocky Mountain Region’s Bark Beetle Page Northwest Colorado Council of Governments Colorado Bark Beetle Cooperative Colorado High Country Forest Health Task Force Gilpin County Citizen’s Initiative Northern Front Range Mountain Pine Beetle Working Group Related Documents:
Floor Speeches -
Statement Supporting H.J. RES. 101 – Making further Continuing Appropriations for Fiscal Year 2011, and for other purposes
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