Photo credit: Stephen Pietzco Dreamstime.com

By Curtis Galbraith

Forest

Alberta sees fewer trees killed by Mountain Pine Beetle in 2020 as feds announce funding

Oct 8, 2020 | 3:23 PM

The federal government says $68.4 million over three years is going into fighting mountain pine beetle infestations.

This includes $60 million for the Government of Alberta to spend on research and forest management, money that the province says will be used for ongoing work to fight infestations.

Parks Canada will use $6.9 million to lower wildfire risks and deal with other impacts of the beetles on the mountain parks.

The remaining $1.5. million is to boost research programs at Natural Resources Canada.

The federal government says $24 million of that $60 million will be spent this fiscal year.

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“The mountain pine beetle infestation is a huge threat to Alberta’s forests and I want to want to thank the federal government for recognizing the importance of this work,” said Minister of Agriculture and Forestry in Alberta, Devin Dreeshen.

“With this funding and Alberta’s successful management efforts last winter, Alberta will undertake the most comprehensive control plan the province has seen in two decades. The beetle stops here.”

Provincial surveys say there were 2,252 trees killed by the beetles in the Grande Prairie Forest Area this year, compared to 8,796 last year.

The province says it did aerial surveys of 7.8. million hectares of forest around Alberta this year and found that the beetles had killed 147,000 trees. That is down from the 244,000 found last year.