1924 : Low CO2 Pine Beetles Destroyed More Than 1.5 Billion Feet Of Timber In Oregon And California

11 Responses to 1924 : Low CO2 Pine Beetles Destroyed More Than 1.5 Billion Feet Of Timber In Oregon And California

1. Curiousgeorge says:

   July 10, 2011 at 7:58 pm

   Some clarification of this number is in order. They would have used boardfeet of harvested timber, which is much different than lineal feet. A board foot is a piece of wood 1″ thick x 12″x12″. Using the International scale for calculating expected log volume, this would result in (for example ) approx. 943,000 trees that are 24″ in diameter and 50 feet long once the tops are cut off. Each log of that size yielding approx 1590 board feet. Using the 1.5 billion number is a gross over-exaggeration of the issue. It was ( and is ) a financial concern for logging companies, and tree farms, but that’s about it. People should realize that trees are a cash crop no different than corn or soybeans, except they take a bit longer to reach harvest. I own a few acres myself.

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   • stevengoddard says:

     July 10, 2011 at 8:01 pm

     No doubt the author meant board-feet.

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     • Curiousgeorge says:

       July 10, 2011 at 9:06 pm

       Probably, but the average reader wouldn’t know that. I suspect that back then the average pine in those forests was likely 4′ diameter or more also, which would reduce the tree count, and hence acreage effected, even more. Some info about the species that might be of interest. http://www.yosemite.ca.us/library/cone-bearing_trees/western_yellow_pine.html

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2. Jos says:

   July 10, 2011 at 8:23 pm

   read conclusions (book from 1930)

   http://www.archive.org/stream/annotatedlistofi00crai#page/90/mode/2up/search/beetle

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3. Ill wind blowing says:

   July 10, 2011 at 9:23 pm

   Why don’t you translate that into acres of forests and then make a comparison to what is happening today? Otherwise it’s just a big and meaningless number intended to wow those who can’t translate it into a much smaller reality.

   I’m sorry; I forgot that “Real Science” does not believe in quantification, just anecdotes. So let’s see what 10 seconds of Googling by a 12 year old, with an IQ of 95, can bring up:

   The World 1910 Almanac and Encyclopedia, page 145, paragraph 9, says

   “The annual production of yellow pine lumber now amounts to over eleven to thirteen billion feet;…”

   Now please tell me, as soon as you spit out those cherry pits, why Oregon and one specific type of lumber tree was chosen? Was it representative of what was happening throughout all of North America in all species of trees? Does this have any relevance to the spread of Pine Bark Beetles into areas where they used to not have a major impact decades ago?

   Inquiring minds would like to know

   http://books.google.com/books?id=cGA3AAAAMAAJ&pg=PA145&lpg=PA145&dq=board+feet+acre+yellow+pine&source=bl&ots=F8sgeE4G4x&sig=oIxxeaJPJQsQ1mwSGAEEnI5MWfE&hl=en&ei=RxEaTqeMJ5SCsQPQuo3gDQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CCAQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q&f=true

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   • stevengoddard says:

     July 10, 2011 at 9:25 pm

     Here, let me put it in more scientific terms. The bugs ate a whole shitload of trees.

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     • Me says:

       July 10, 2011 at 9:31 pm

       🙂

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4. Latitude says:

   July 10, 2011 at 9:36 pm

   We built our house in Craig out of beetle kill, it’s better insulation…
   …and it costs a whole lot more

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   • Curiousgeorge says:

     July 10, 2011 at 9:55 pm

     You make a good point. It’s very likely that a large number of those trees were harvested for the usual uses. Pine beetles don’t actually eat trees, they simply girdle the sapwood, which prevents nutrients from flowing and the tree dies. The heartwood is unaffected and is perfectly usable. Most people don’t know this, including the eco-loons. They are expensive to stop, however, since all the trees in the immediate vicinity must be cut down to prevent the beetles from spreading. In the case of 100 ft tall tree, that means cutting a circular area around the infected tree approx 100 ft in radius.

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     • Latitude says:

       July 10, 2011 at 10:01 pm

       What happens is the tree dies standing up, the sap runs down….
       ….that leaves a hollow, very hard, porous matrix.
       Because it’s so hard, it’s harder to mill. But being porous, it’s fantastic insulation.
       It was a boon to the mills, they make a lot more money on it…………..
       It’s a beautiful wood, you finish the inside and that’s your inside walls, you don’t put anything over it and it’s better insulation than anything you can buy.
       We build a three story log house that way……

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5. Harold Pierce Jr says:

   July 14, 2011 at 7:55 am

   ATTN: Ill Wind blowing

   FYI, Dendroctonus brevicomis is the western pine bettle. It is fairly host specfic and attacks mostly western yellow pine aka ponderosa pine.

   The mountain pine bettle ( D. ponderosa) attacks mostly lodgepole pine which grows at higher elevations and in drier locations than ponderosa pine. This beetle will also attack ponderosa and jack pine.

   Pine forests in the west are relatively short-lived and have a life cycle time of ca 100-200 years. Forest fires are the major factor which affects the life cycle of these pine forests

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