Photo courtesy Veronica Woodruff.

If you’ve wondered if there’s is an abnormal number of reddening trees, you’re not the only one. However, you might not be inclined, as Veronica Woodruff is, to turn your wondering into a springboard for research. Happily, Veronica has shared what she turned up, when she followed her curiosity. Here’s her post from the Pemberton Community Forum:

Have you been noticing small stands of trees turning red on the hillsides? After a discussion with a forester, this appears to be Douglas Fir Bark Beetle. They are a local pest to BC and like mature Douglas Fir and will attack trees that are stressed (i.e., these drought conditions that started last summer). These are the same trees that woodpeckers were feasting on all winter. I have reached out the Ministry of Forest Entomologist for guidance but I also found this home owners guide to bark beetle mitigation. I have seen these trees on Ridge properties and up Benchlands. Check out the removal guide here (and removing these dead trees will probably aid in creating a fire smart property too): https://www2.gov.bc.ca/…/5849_douglasfir_barkbeetle..

If you identify these infested trees around your property, the guidelines recommended below suggest an action window before spring, when the beetles emerge. This would involve cutting down infested trees and carefully destroying the felled trees, the blowdown and the debris, so the beetles are also destroyed.