Black Forest residents watch forest thin as Pine Beetles kill trees

BLACK FOREST, Colo. (KRDO) -- There is growing concern across Colorado about mountain pine beetle infestations. Neighbors in the Black Forest say they’re seeing the impact firsthand, as tree deaths in the area have sharply increased over the past several years, shrinking parts of the forest and leaving homeowners worried about what comes next.

One of the biggest draws to living in the Black Forest is the forest itself, but many homeowners say the landscape is disappearing.

The Colorado State Forest Service says mountain Pine Beetles attack pine trees by boring through the bark, cutting off the tree’s ability to move water and nutrients.

Here in the Black Forest, homeowners say they’ve sometimes watched healthy-looking trees turn brown and die in a single season, leaving behind safety concerns and costly cleanup.

KRDO13 spoke with Black Forest resident Scott Robblee and his wife, Laura, to see the damage from these beetles up close and personal.

"It's kinda depressing to some extent. When we moved out here, we got here for the trees, and now we pretty much have already lost 60 or so trees, and I anticipate this year we're probably gonna have to bring down at least another 60 to 80 trees," said Scott Robblee.

Certified arborist Joel Horvath says he’s seen a sharp increase in calls from black forest homeowners concerned about dying trees and the spread of beetles. He told me today what people should be looking for. 

"Well, the first thing is, just inspecting your trees, the trees can be affected and still be asymptomatic, but the thing that you wanna look for is flagging near the tops of the trees. You'll typically see yellowing of the needles at the top, and it will work its way down because the vascular system is being affected, so it can't get the nutrients up to the top," said Horvath.

Governor Polis announced on Dec. 15 a new task force that has been designed to protect Colorado forests and communities from the impact of the mountain pine beetle.

According to the governor, the task force will coordinate across state, local, federal, private, and nonprofit partners to advance urgent and long-term strategies, which includes the following:

• Improving cross-jurisdictional collaboration to advance innovative and solution-oriented partnerships, and address risks posed by beetle-killed trees and fuel mitigation.
• Developing public education tools for homeowners and communities.
• Evaluating strategies to protect watersheds and utility infrastructure.
• Protecting the region’s outdoor recreation and tourism infrastructure and economies. 
• Advancing reforestation planning and forest health through species and age diversity.
• Strengthening wildfire detection, suppression, and recovery innovation.
• Assessing timber markets and opportunities to utilize beetle-kill wood.
• Exploring insurance strategies related to shifting fire risk.
• Identifying new funding strategies and implementing relevant federal wildfire recommendations.

“Bark beetle outbreaks are not new to Colorado. We’ve been here before, and we know what works. This task force will strengthen partnerships and ensure science-based management guides our response in support of communities across the state. This is not a time to panic. It’s a time to ramp up and take action to reduce the impacts of this outbreak and ensure we never allow our forests to become this vulnerable ever again," said Matthew McCombs, State Forester and Director of the Colorado State Forest Service.

To learn more about the Mountain Pine Beetle, visit the Colorado State Forest Service webpage. For Jefferson County residents, you can visit the Mountain Pine Beetle resource page.

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