The Oregon Department of Forestry says the 2021 ice storm, which brought down many large-diameter Douglas-firs across the state created the potential for an outbreak of the native Douglas-fir beetle.Christine Buhl, a Department of Forestry entomologist, said tree stands with pre-existing stress from drought, root disease, or other causes, are the most at-risk for a beetle outbreak, which tend to last one to three years before collapsing on their own. During that time beetles can move from downed wood to healthy Douglas-fir trees nearby, weakening or killing them, Buhl said. Douglas-firs infested with the beetle present with an orange, sawdust-like powder on their bark, a sign that beetles have moved in and are preparing to lay eggs. Treatment includes finishing before April 2021 the removal of damaged material on trees and-or the application of MCH repellent, an anti-aggregation pheromone that is effective, inexpensive, and sold as a general pesticide online, Buhl said. MCH wont work for trees that have already been infested, so landowners need to act before an outbreak gets going, she said.For more information about the Douglas-fir beetle go to /content/files/3u5fzlp.pdf. More about storm damage management is available at /content/files/3avieos.pdf. The state of Oregon and the U.S. Department of Agriculture both released information on using MCH to protect trees and stands from Douglas-fir beetle infestation.
A pest that has destroyed over 10 million ash trees across the eastern United States is expected to reach its peak emergence in Oregon this month. First discovered in Oregon in trees growing at Forest Grove's Joseph Gale Elementary School, the insects are expected to devastate Oregon's ash trees.
A pest that has destroyed over 10 million ash trees across the eastern United States is expected to reach its peak emergence in Oregon this month. First discovered in Oregon in trees growing at Joseph Gale Elementary, the insects are expected to devastate Oregon's ash trees.
A vague letter about a timber sale near Astoria started a year-long series of communication breakdowns that resulted in blowups at board of forestry meetings, an $8,000 mediator's bill and one board member—a Forest Grove resident and former Pacific University professor—quitting.
Two recent studies, created independently of each other, that examined the effects of wildfires in Oregon, Washington as well as other parts of the West, found that trees scorched by fire can continue to die for as long as five years after a wildfire.��
The Oregon Capitol building in Salem. Photo: Chas Hundley
The Oregon Legislatures 2022 short session came and went (did you blink?) and in this era of rapid inflation and
File photo of a bee
Bees are becoming more active as temperatures begin warming to 50 degrees and above, and the Tualatin Valley Beekeepers Association is inviting the public to
The Tillamook and Washington County lines at the Coast Range summit on Highway 6 on January 27, 2022. Photo: Chas Hundley
Is change on the way for Oregon's
The Oregon Capitol building in Salem. Photo: Chas Hundley
Rep. Dan Rayfield (D-Corvallis), Oregons first new Speaker of the House since 2013, told OPB the 2022 legislative short session
