USDA ANNOUNCES $40 MILLION IN BARK BEETLE FUNDING
News Date December 15, 2009
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced today that U.S. Forest Service will commit an additional $40 million to address public safety concerns and forest health needs arising from the millions of acres of dead and dying trees from bark beetle infestations in the West.
Bark beetle is in epidemic stages across the Rocky Mountain region. The impacts have been especially severe in the Forest Service's Rocky Mountain Region, where over 2.5 million acres have been affected. The epidemic has had a severe impact on forest health and has resulted in a dramatic increase in the danger of trees falling on roads, trails and recreation areas. In addition, these dead and dying trees greatly increase the risk of fire danger in the communities of the Rocky Mountain Region and elsewhere in forested areas of the United States. (Contact: Nathan Bowen)