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Alberta attacking mountain pine beetle infestations 02/15/11
Work crews busy felling and burning trees killed by forest pest
Edmonton... Contractors and crews in west-central Alberta are out in the province’s forests continuing the fight against mountain pine beetle.
“We’re putting people to work to cut and burn infested trees before the beetles inside can hatch and attack more trees,” explained Sustainable Resource Development Minister Mel Knight. “The contracts are part of Alberta’s approach to managing the threat infestations pose to the health of our forests.”
In the past six weeks, Alberta has awarded more than 30 contracts for extensive detection and removal work in a region roughly bounded by Grande Prairie in the northwest, Hinton in the southwest and Slave Lake to the east. The work involves approximately 600 contract employees and is expected to result in removal of about 170,000 infested trees. Most of the contract workers were deployed by mid-January and all are expected to complete their work by the end of March.
The Alberta government is providing $15 million for the contract work. In total, $30 million in disaster assistance has been provided this year to combat mountain pine beetle infestations, including field surveys and control work, grants to municipalities, seed collecting and pheromone monitoring.
Knight noted that forest companies in the region are also helping to remove beetle-attacked trees by harvesting high-risk stands. “The companies are changing their schedules to harvest in the more heavily infested areas first, which lets us concentrate our control work in other areas to best advantage,” he explained.
Mountain pine beetles threaten six million hectares of Alberta forest containing pine stands. At risk are social, economic, and environmental values - including watershed health, fish and wildlife habitat, recreation opportunities, community sustainability and the province’s forest industry.
Alberta’s objectives are to minimize the spread of beetles north and south along the Eastern Slopes, and prevent beetles from spreading further east in the boreal forest.
The Government of Alberta has a clear plan for a strong economic recovery. The Way Forward will bring Alberta back into a surplus position by trimming government spending; using cash reserves to protect key programs; continuing to invest in public infrastructure; and ensuring that our province's industries are competitive and continue to attract investment to provide jobs and prosperity.
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