Forest Health

Group spurge removal training and digging events are suspended for now due to Covid-19. Please report spurge wherever you see it to Forest Health – BeetleBusters at Forest.Health.BB@gmail.com

FH-BB individuals continue to inspect lots, report to home owners, provide training re safe removal methods and loan equipment.

Improve your property by removing this toxic invasive weed.

Spurge Removal            Seedling Removal

Douglas-fir tussock moth is a native defoliator of Douglas-fir and is a native species found throughout mixed-conifer forests in the western United States and southern British Columbia.

During late summer and early fall the hairs on these caterpillars can cause a very itchy rash. The prickly hairs are a defense mechanism and are not poisonous or venomous.

If you have seen evidence of the Tussock Moth please report the location to us so we can investigate and take action if necessary.

Poison hemlock is a member of the plant family Apiaceae which contains a few important vegetable crops such as carrots, celery, and parsnip, and herbs such as parsley, cilantro, dill, and caraway.

It is a tall, invasive, highly poisonous weed that is sometimes mistaken for one of its crop relatives. Poison hemlock is toxic to humans affecting the central nervous and reproductive systems.

While cases of human poisoning are comparatively rare it is important that any sightings of poison hemlock be reported to us.

Mountain Pine Beetle (MPB) is an insect native to the forests of western North America. The beetles typically develop in pines such as lodgepole and ponderosa and less commonly affect bristlecone and piñon pines. Our PBH forest is primarily ponderosa pine.

MPB completes a generation within one year from egg to adult. Adults typically fly to seek new host trees in July through August, although a small number emerge earlier and some later through the summer months. Attacking females initially prefer large diameter trees until they are depleted from the forest.

Douglas fir, (genus Pseudotsuga), is a genus of about six species of evergreen trees of the conifer family Pinaceae which is native to western North America and eastern Asia. Douglas fir trees have long, flat spirally arranged needles that grow directly from the branch and completely surround it. Winter buds are brown, shiny and pointed. The hanging oblong cones characteristically have three-pointed outer cone scales that protrude from the cone scales. Cones mature in one season and retain their scales when they fall.

Documents:   PBH Decline: Benninghoff     PBH Decline: Burns-USDA