Reports sought of pine beetle in parks

July 17, 2001
Source: Edmonton Journal
Original story - link verified on July 17, 2001

Alberta forestry officials are asking campers and hikers in Banff and Jasper national parks and the Kananaskis area to look for signs of the mountain pine beetle. The beetles lay eggs in pine trees and create a fungal infection. "If the beetles are successful, the whole tree changes colour and it becomes kind of É greenish-yellow and then eventually it will be brownish-red," said forest entomologist Sunil Ranasinghe. "If they (visitors) see any tree with this kind of canopy, we'd like them to report it to us." This will allow officials to remove diseased trees and stop the insect's spread from the British Columbia interior, where it has damaged 59,000 sq. km of forest.

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