Peter Dratch, endangered species program manager for = the=20 National Park Service, looks inside Rocky Mountain National Park's new = Air=20 Curtain Burner at Glacier Basin Campground on Tuesday. The park bought = the=20 device to burn beetle-infested trees.

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In the decade-old war against mountain pine beetles, the National = Park=20 Service has purchased a potent new weapon.

It's an $81,000 Air Curtain Burner, a glorified fire pit that reaches = 2,000=20 degrees and incinerates beetle-infested trees at a speedy clip, with = minimal=20 smoke and a promise that the invading beetles and their offspring won't = survive=20 to kill again.

Unveiled Tuesday near Glacier Basin Campground, the big burner won't = put an=20 end to the beetle raid finishing off Colorado's lodgepole pine forests. = But it=20 has proved effective in helping park officials protect trees in the = park's=20 "front country" - the 5 percent of the park made up of campgrounds, = historic=20 structures and other high-tourist areas.

The burner allows workers to quickly do away with freshly invaded = trees in=20 the winter burning season.

Because such trees are still green, they are hard to burn in a = typical slash=20 pile.

They also produce enormous amounts of smoke.

But the burner - about half the size of a boxcar - uses a diesel = engine to=20 blow air downward into the burn compartment, creating a very hot fire = capable of=20 burning still-green trees with far fewer emissions. It forces the smoke = and=20 particulates downward, back into the fire, where most of the tiny = particles are=20 consumed.

And, because the fire is contained inside steel walls, the park = service can=20 use the burner without fear of sparking a wildfire that can occur with = more=20 traditional slash-pile burns.

A weapon of slash destruction, maybe?

"It's a more versatile tool," said Doug Watrey, a fuel specialist at = the=20 park.

In recent years, the park has leased a similar burner at a cost of = thousands=20 of dollars per month. But, with the beetle devastation so severe, = officials=20 figured they'd use one enough that it made more sense to buy than = rent.

Earlier, forest health managers at the park were burning 50 to 200=20 beetle-infested trees a year. But that figure has climbed. In 2007, it = was about=20 1,500 trees.

This year, it will likely be 2,000 to 3,000, forest health specialist = Brian=20 Verhulst predicts.

The struggles in the park are in keeping with findings released last = week by=20 state and federal foresters.

Based on recent aerial surveys, they said all of the state's mature = lodgepole=20 pine forests likely would be dead in three to five years.

The surveyed forests included those in Rocky Mountain National Park, = which,=20 as of 2006, had nearly 38,000 acres of dying lodgepoles, a figure sure = to rise=20 when the 2007 count of infected acreage is released in coming days.

As in much of the state, the beetle epidemic in the park is far worse = on the=20 west side of the Continental Divide, which park spokeswoman Kyle = Patterson=20 described as reaching "epidemic proportions."

Generally, that's because lodgepole forests are less diverse there, = with=20 fewer tree species to buffer the beetles' attack.

On the park's eastern side, a wider array of tree types probably will = ease=20 the impact, experts say, resulting in fewer massive swaths of brown and = red that=20 are now ubiquitous across Grand and Summit counties.

It's also why park officials are preparing to move the Air Curtain = Burner in=20 about two more weeks.

It's heading to the west side and a busy spring of = beetle-burning.

hartmant@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5048

Bug battle

Rocky Mountain National Park officials have = taken=20 steps to limit the damage from beetle attacks in campgrounds and other = heavily=20 used areas.

* Burning: Removal of trees containing live beetles = and=20 incinerating in an "Air Curtain Burner."

* Spraying: Workers apply an insecticide called = Carbaryl to=20 high-value trees in campgrounds and other areas. The chemical prevents = beetles=20 from successfully invading the trees. The cost is about $10 per = tree.

* Tree removal: Beetle-killed trees that pose a = hazard to=20 visitors or employees are removed. Workers also are assessing = backcountry=20 campsites to improve safety for backpackers and hikers.

* Attractants: Chemicals designed to lure beetles = away from=20 trees were considered but not used by the park service in 2007 after = scientific=20 review found them ineffective in severe outbreaks.

* Expenditures: Rocky Mountain National Park spent = $228,000=20 managing beetles in 2007 and expects to spend more than $200,000 again = in=20 2008.

* Planning: Park service officials are focusing on = trees=20 along roads, power-line rights of way and heavily populated campsites, = popular=20 and remote. The park is developing a seven-year strategic plan for = beetle=20 management through 2013.

Subscribe to the = Rocky=20 Mountain News

Comments

Posted by AngelontheSidelines = on January=20 23, 2008 at 8:42 a.m. (Suggest=20 removal)

Why not just torch the forest? Lodgepole only reseed with fire, the = cones=20 depend on fire to heat the cones that explode from heat, and disperse = the seeds,=20 that need an ashen soil to germinate, and the ashen soil eliminates = competition=20 from grass, and brush for the seedling to establish themselves as a = tree.

This is a great example of Intelligent design. Why not use it instead = of puny=20 attempts at mitigation?

Posted by JustSayin on January = 23, 2008=20 at 9:54 a.m. (Suggest=20 removal)

At least this reporter was smart enough to understand and convey what = the=20 incinerator is used for!

Last weekend the 'other' Denver paper reported "An incinerator also = is being=20 used in Rocky Mountain National Park to keep beetles from jumping from = tree to=20 tree and to clear trails of dead trees" ... spare us from idiot = reporters and=20 from editors who don't do their jobs, is that too much to = ask?

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Park fires up attack on infested trees

Burner helping park service save 'front = country'

By Todd = Hartman,=20 Rocky Mountain News (Con= tact)=20

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

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Posted by AngelontheSidelines = on January=20 23, 2008 at 8:42 a.m. (Suggest=20 removal)

Posted by JustSayin on January = 23, 2008=20 at 9:54 a.m. (Suggest=20 removal)

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