Rocky Mountain bark beetle infestation

The current bark beetle infestation in the Rocky Mountains was first detected in 1996. It involved the Mountain pine beetle, which has since spread across millions of acres of dense forest land. In addition, Spruce beetle populations have also been growing in the area in recent years and are further contributing to the existing outbreak. One of the main factors limiting bark beetle population growth is the temperature they can survive at and climate change has raised the average temperature in the region resulting in warmer winters and hotter, drier summers. This not only sped up the bark beetle reproduction process by providing more time per year for them to complete their developmental stages, moisture stressing due to hotter temperatures also weakens the trees’ defense against attacks by reducing resin production. Furthermore, forest management has also played a significant role as many forests in the region have very dense tree populations which facilitates faster spreading from tree to tree, as well as weakening tree defenses further by stressing them through excessive competition.