EDMONTON — Alberta says it is making its first gains against tree-killing mountain pine beetles since the serious infestation of the bugs began in 2006.
The province says there are three main reasons the number of trees being attacked by the beetles is down.
New swarms of the bugs didn’t fly into Alberta from B.C. this summer, a cold winter killed off lots of the beetles and forestry crews have done of good job of removing infested timber.
Alberta’s Sustainable Resources Development Department is basing its assessment on aerial surveys of forests completed since July.
Minister Mel Knight says while the results are encouraging, the campaign against the mountain pine beetle is far from over.
He says beetles still threaten 60,000 square kilometres of Alberta forests and new inflights of bugs from B.C. are possible next summer.