SouthernPineBarkBeetle_CutCutCut_Shelton_Larry_NacogdochesTX_29August1997_Reel1015.mp3
Larry Shelton [00:00:01] The southern pine beetle certainly does have a potential to impact areas in the thousands of acres.
Larry Shelton [00:00:09] The Forest Service typically goes in, and it salvages these southern pine beetle spots for two reasons.
Larry Shelton [00:00:16] One, it's an effort to recover the timber that's in the spot. It's an economic return.
Larry Shelton [00:00:21] Also, they claim that it controls the southern pine beetle. There's a lot of debate over that.
Larry Shelton [00:00:30] The southern pine beetle, by nature, is cyclical: it goes through epidemic years and endemic years as well.
Larry Shelton [00:00:36] And once, once we enter into an epidemic phase, cutting of a particular spot can only cause those southern pine beetles to re-initiate in another spot. Because, in fact, if you literally remove those trees, it does force them to start over.
Larry Shelton [00:00:57] But no amount of cutting has actually diminished the severity of any epidemic, nor has it shortened the duration of any epidemic.
Larry Shelton [00:01:10] So they cut, cut, cut, and just wait for the epidemic to play out on its own.