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of posting and archiving, however, the Guardian has no control
on the length of time that a respective news source will
continue to maintain any story in its own archives, so be
advised that you may encounter non-working links Bill McKee - Editor
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Dayle
Bennett, a Forest Service entomologist based in
Boise
,
Idaho
, said he isn't convinced that the latest bug
activity is outside normal historic behavior.
"A
lot of it is cyclic. Those beetles have been
part of this forest environment for eons,"
Bennett said. "We have dry periods that
come and go throughout geological time. … Some
try to link it to global warming, but I'm not
entirely sure that's the case."
Although
specific areas can be treated for beetles, there
is no effective way to deal with wide-ranging
infestations. The outbreak probably won't
subside until moisture levels increase in the
West - and it will take more than just one year
of average rain or snow.
"When
the drought breaks, usually within a couple
years those beetle populations will
subside," Bennett said.
In
the meantime, though, the beetles will continue
to quietly reshape the forests - even while
wildfires grab the headlines.
"I
will say the area of forest impacted by forest
insects is much greater than those impacted by
fire," said
Logan
, adding that the fires, bugs and forests are
all ultimately interrelated. "It's all a
pretty complex issue."
Martz
thanks supporters in timber industry Good riddance
to the governess, she is generally agreed to be the
worst governor Montana ever had - Montanawill
be much better without her and(eventually)
the timber
industry – Ed.
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About
the Painted Rocks Guardian's
News, Links, & Commentary Section
It is a
daily look at environmentally related stories from around the country,
many of which are illustrative of the high level of incompetence (and
worse) existing within most of the government entities currently charged
with administering our nation's parks, forests, other public lands,
waterways, and airsheds. As you read these news stories from many
different sources, you will note that almost all environmental
protection/preservation efforts and programs to save our nation's public
treasures originate from private environmental organizations, often
times via court order, and NOT through the respective governmental
agencies with primary administration responsibilities. Most of these
governmental entities (e.g., the Forest Service) have become top heavy
with many levels of career bureaucrats who, instead of protecting and
preserving the nation's priceless resources, are 'busy' catering to
consumptive/extractive industry interests in the course of administering
politically designed social welfare employment programs and wealth
redistributionist grant programs. While the current system is almost
hopelessly corrupt at many levels, it is being increasingly understood
as such by the general public. Increased general public awareness of the
problem is necessary to trigger environmentally informed political
actions that will eventually save the nation's public treasures.
Effective solutions to the current situation will most likely involve
the deconstruction of several bureaucratic agencies as they exist today
with a functional redesign that will shift major policy development and
administrative direction authority into the hands of environmental
groups/organizations (as contrasted with agency hand-picked and selected
'citizen groups' dominated by consumptionists) and out of the hands of
self-interested bureaucrats and extractive industry interests.
- Bill McKee - Editor.
