Silver Lining to Pine Beetle Devastation
Colorado’s problem with Pine Beetles devastation of lodge pole pines finds a silver lining in wood pellet production. Pellet mills are making pellets from the lodge pole pines killed by the pine beetle infestation.
This creates two benefits for the area. By cleaning up the dead trees and turning them into wood pellets, mills are able to bring very low-cost fuel to homeowners, and reduce the risk of deadly forest fires throughout the region at the same time. This is a win-win situation.
Local companies and groups are also creating initiatives to plant indigenous trees in non-harvest locations throughout Colorado as a method of replenishing forests devastated by the mountain pine beetle. It is estimated that all of Colorado’s mature lodgepole forests will be
destroyed by the beetles within five years.
At $299/ton the cost of these wood pellets is still equivalent to fuel oil at below $2.50/gallon. A far cry from what consumers are seeing in their heating oil bills.