Alberta Wilderness Association
News Release: August 2, 2005
While the government is spending time and money trying to eradicate the recent infestation of mountain pine beetle in Willmore Wilderness Park, they could better use that money in the future to support ecosystem-based forest research and management. Serious epidemics of forest pests could be avoided by allowing forests to exist in their natural, complex, healthy state instead of being subjected to unnatural management strategies such as fire suppression.
"Willmore Wilderness Park and our mountain national parks have all become ripe targets for unnaturally large infestations of the mountain pine beetle due to decades of fire suppression that has left thick, congested forests," says Vivian Pharis of AWA's Board of Directors.
Historically, natural fires swept through portions of our boreal forest in 25 - 300 year cycles, thinning them and leaving them more able to resist devastating pest attacks. Beetles have arrived in Willmore from British Columbia. The government is undertaking a program of cutting, burning and baiting in northwest Willmore to stem the spread of mountain pine beetle, which is a threat to Alberta's commercial forests. The money is coming from the lucrative Forest Protection budget of Sustainable Resource Development.
While the national parks recognize that the pine beetle is a native species, they are under pressure from Alberta to control it on park lands. In order to do this in a more natural and long-term way, both Banff and Jasper are implementing fairly aggressive prescribed burning programs. Such programs are also in the works for Willmore Wilderness Park, where AWA is assured that logging will not be allowed to substitute for burning programs.
"AWA is supportive of a scientifically based approach to prescribed burning throughout Willmore Wilderness Park in order to return its forests to a more natural condition and to enhance wildlife habitat in critical portions of this area that have been transformed by years of fire control to less productive habitat types," says Pharis. "Forest Protection's huge budget of nearly $100 million should be redirected from fire protection for commercial forests, to returning our forests to a healthy state of mixed species composition and ages, where they are able to resist catastrophic wildlife and disease and insect infestations without human interference."
For more information:
Vivian Pharis: (403) 283-2025
AWA's Position Statement on Forest Pests: http://www.albertawilderness.ca/AWRC/Positions/PS0506FOR.pdf
"Can we share the forest with mountain pine beetles?" by Dr. Mary Reid: http://www.albertawilderness.ca/Issues/FOR/2001/AR0108FOR2.pdf