Lumber manufacturer Kalesnikoff is sounding the alarm over the growing population of Douglas Fir Beetles that is killing off large amounts of forest in the Kootenays.
“We have some really heavily fir-dominated forests, especially on our south and west aspects, and we are going to see some really devastating effects”, says Kalesnikoff forest development manager Gerald Corderiro.
On Monday he held a presentation in front of city council to point out the magnitude of the issues currently plaguing several areas in and around Nelson.
While the company have had some success with their efforts to control the beetle population, Cordeiro says there are many challenges when fighting off the critters, that attack already weakened trees.
“The bugs are very mobile. They fly and we could reduce the population in one are and they could fly in from a neighboring watershed just like that, in a very short period of time”, Gerald Cordeiro says.
Aerial overview surveys conducted by the B.C government recorded 47,628 hectares of damage attributed to the beetle in 2015.