Pine bark beetle kill

[dapper]

We hunted Northern Colorado and the majority of the areas mature pine are dead and really starting to fall over. Its only pine, no aspen. I looked up and found that this epidemic is more in the northern sections of Colorado. Anyhow according to what I found. Anybody hunting in Southern Colorado seem to notice this in there areas?

I actually saw more trees fall over than elk. Where we camped last year a huge pine tree had fallen across the site. Climbing over the numerous deadfalls totally shredded my rainpants and tore open the stitching on one of my other pants cargo pockets. The last place we camped we piled dead trees, that we could handle, next to the tent so should a tree fall it wouldn't squish us, only impale us with its dead branches. We brought a personal locator beacon into the tent at night in case we got pinned down. Its only going to be worse next year, so we are looking elsewhere. Thanks for any input on sections of Colorado that may have escaped the beetles wrath.

[ElkNut1]

I'm not hunting CO but we too have tons of beetle kill here too! It seems to be the pines especially lodge poles that are affected most. Makes for good firewood!

ElkNut1

[Relentlessly Unforgiving]

We hunted southwest CO and the pine trees looked very healthy but some aspen groves looked horrible. I'm not sure if the same beetle will attack both the aspens and pines. Very few dead pine trees compared to the aspens. We too utilized dead fall to protect our heads as the aspens that were falling around us!

[Swede]

When Lodgepole pine becomes over-mature, just aover little over 80 years, it becomes very vulnerable to Mountain pine beetle. There are only two ways I know of to prevent this. Fire kill it, or clear cut it. You will notice LPP grows up in stands where they are all the same age showing they came in after a former devastating change. Anyway that is what I remember being taught. Pine beetles won't bother Aspen.

[Trophyhill]

didn't notice any in southern CO this year but noticed some along the front range in the CO Springs area where I was hunting.

[welka]

Our old area in MT around white sulphur springs is almost wiped out by them. Miles and miles and miles of brown as far as the eye can see in some directions. Sometimes you almost wish for lightning to turn the trees into tinder and open up the ground floor about 3 years sooner than it will take waiting for the needles to fall to the ground and open up the ground floor. Beetles and wolves what a wonderful pair.