Could warm winter be bad news for Oregon trees?
The warm, dry winter is bad news for millions of trees in the western United States. In the last three years, bark beetles have killed nearly 130 million trees in California.
But will the lack of snowfall bring the same problem to Central Oregon?
Nicole Strong, a forester with the OSU Extension Service, says no, at least not yet. She said Thursday that warm, dry winters can cause early insect hatching and increased stress on trees, which makes them more susceptible to bark beetles. Snow and winter weather kill off the insects, keeping populations in check.
Thankfully, while our days have been warmer than seasonal averages, our nights are still cold enough to do the trick.
Strong said that for now, we don’t have to worry, but we need to look at long-term trends.
“So if we get consistently a lot of warm, dry winters and hot, dry summers, it’s really going to stress our trees out and that makes them very susceptible to bark beetles and all sorts of forest health issues,” Strong said.
As the weather warms up, there are signs to look for and ways to protect your trees.
“Pick up branches or slash around trees,” Strong said. “Those slash piles, or putting all your firewood underneath your tree, can actually become a breeding ground for bark beetles that will then fly into your tree.”
Strong also recommends keeping trees strong by protecting the roots and not digging or running heavy machinery around them. She also said not to prune them in the spring or summer, because it creates an opening the beetles can get into, and the flowing sap attracts them.
