Across NM, Drought Stress Driving Bark Beetle Growth; First Pinons Died, Now Ponderosa Pines
Teresa Seamster said she is usually fine with cutting down her beetle-infested piñons because it keeps the pests from spreading to healthy trees. But she recalled mourning the loss of three majestic roadside trees that had to be felled. “One had a big hawk’s nest in it,” said Seamster, who lives in the Los Vaqueros area south of Santa Fe. “It was just sad to see this big gap where you used [to] see all these beautiful trees.”
Bark beetle infestations are among the effects of the state’s prolonged drought, which is stressing trees throughout the region, from semi-rural neighborhoods to urban areas to forests. Dehydrated trees can’t produce the resin that’s a natural pest repellent — a sort of double whammy in a drought. Arborists, foresters, state and local governments, and residents like Seamster are working to counter the drought’s impacts on trees. But it promises to be an endless battle as researchers predict climate change will create warmer, drier weather in the coming years throughout the Southwest.
The piñon pine, New Mexico’s official state tree, is especially vulnerable. Harsh drought conditions led to an estimated 350 million piñons dying statewide in the early 2000s and millions more dying a decade later, leaving desolate gaps in the landscape.
Tree experts worry that an unrelenting drought could cause another enormous tree die-off, and not just piñon. Large expanses of ponderosa pine are yellowing from drought stress in wooded areas. “If drought conditions continue on this path or get worse, it’s very likely we’ll have another event like that,” said John Formby, an entomologist at the state Forestry Division.
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https://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/local_news/southwests-prolonged-drought-stressing-new-mexico-trees/article_a134d4a4-7aa8-11eb-87c8-17c001163f12.html
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