In working on a burn salvage sale in California, under court order to
NOT cut any burned tree with even a single green branch, I'm seeing a
major beetle infestation in progress. Especially affected are the
large sugar pines, with their thin bark. "Preservationists" got a
judge to halt all cutting of burn salvage trees that have ANY green
needles left on them. This provides perfect brood trees for beetle
populations to explode. The burned (but not killed) trees are already
stressed from burned cambium, affecting its ability to take up water
and nutrients. Many trees will take YEARS to die but, they WILL die.
Why not eliminate those brood trees before several generations of
beetles are unleashed upon the survivors of the fire? Why do we have
to wait until the bugs are done with the tree? Actually, there are
thousands of new "study trees" to maybe bring to the judge a new
"silvicultural prescription" for burn restoration.

Under the current court order, everyone loses. Especially down the
road (so to speak) when those now dead trees fall on roads.

Larry, currently "saving" bug trees