RAPID CITY, S.D. – Mountainsides of dead trees were the backdrop of the Mountain Pine Beetle infestation in the Black Hills National Forest that ended in the mid-2010’s. It lasted nearly 20 years, cost hundreds of millions of dollars in direct costs, financially impacted South Dakota’s two biggest economies, agriculture and tourism, and affected over 450,000 acres of land, both private and public.
Now they’re back.
The first recorded outbreak in the Black Hills occurred in the late 1890s. An estimated 10 million trees were killed during this outbreak. Approximately five outbreaks have occurred since that time,
According to U.S. Forest Service Forest Entomologist Kurt Allen, after 10 years of no signs of infestation, the past two years are showing an emergence of the tree-killing insect. But, he adds, “it’s not an epidemic at this point.”
Allen and South Dakota Department of Agriculture & Natural Resources Forest Health Specialist John Ball spoke to a group of landowners about Mountain Pine Beetles and other tree-killing insects in Spearfish, S.D., this week.
Ball and Allen said certain pesticides are effective at preventing beetle infestations. Preventative sprays should be used on vulnerable trees from late May to early June. Pine Engraver Beetles behave differently, and if these bugs are the worry, sprays should be used in March. Infested trees should be cut down and disposed of to prevent beetles from spreading. Burning trees is an effective method of disposal, but people wishing to do so in the Black Hills National Forest Fire Protection District must acquire a permit before doing so
