Pine Beetle 'Epidemic' Destroying Colorado Forests

Denver, CO (AHN) - An unprecedented infestation by mountain pine beetles are threatening to wipe out lodgepole pine trees in northern Colorado and the Front Range within five years, federal and state forestry officials warned on Monday.

Based on recent aerial surveys revealed by the U.S. Forest Service in the region during a press conference in Golden on Monday, more than one million acres of the state's high-latitude forests had been destroyed, including half a million acres last year, since the infestation started in 1996. Affected counties are Boulder, Larimer, Gilpin, Chaffee, Clear Creek and Lake.

Susan Gray, an official from the agency, described the infestation as surprising. The Dailycamera.com quoted her as saying, "It was very uncharacteristic for the mountain pine beetle to go that high up in elevation."

She added that the beetles cannot be stopped because the infested area is massive and even the winter hasn't been "cold enough for long enough" to kill the beetles.

According to the Associate Press, Colorado State Forest Service forest entimologist Ingrid Aguayo said the lodgepole forest is regenerating and its destruction is actually the beginning of the natural process. But Aguayo said the completion of regeneration will take up to 50 years after the bark beetle infestation.