The southern forests of this park (meaning it's happening mostly in Banff) are succumbing to a natural enemy which, in normal times, the pines can defeat. It's the Pine Bark Beetle. This little creature bores its way into a pine tree (nearby firs/cedars/etc. are unaffected) causing the pine to secrete large amounts of sap to expel the offender. The beetle carries with it a bit of fungus which is normally killed during the very cold winters here. For the past several years, winters have been very mild so the beetle and fungus have survived. These set up a system inside the tree which shuts off the normal water transport system of the tree and the tree dies. Huge swaths of dead trees are plainly visible as you look at the thousands of acres of evergreens here. As one method of dealing with this terrible problem, the Parks department has decided to burn selected areas to prevent the spread of this beetle. This photo shows a prescribed burn which was going on as we passed by. It's not a dramatic photo, but you can see the bits of forest that are dying due to this pest.
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