Avalanche debris could attract beetle threat

Avalanche debris in Colorado’s high country could provide fresh breeding grounds for forest-destroying bark beetles.

But one U.S. Forest Service supervisor says there’s little the agency can do to mitigate the threat.

Scott Fitzwilliams is supervisor of the White National Forest.

He tells The Aspen Times that downed spruce can be a perfect breeding ground for spruce beetles.

Heavy snowpack unleashed a series of avalanches over the winter that downed spruce and aspen trees in numerous areas.