The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Problem exploded after 2019 work
[ By Mark Reaman ]
A Mountain Pine Beetle infestation at Avalanche Park just south of Crested Butte will result in a stand of trees along Highway 135 being removed by early summer. While more than 100 lodgepole pines near the Baxter Gulch trailhead have been identified as being infested, the Colorado State Forest Service has recommended all the trees be removed. The Crested Butte town council agreed Monday to allocate $20,000 toward the project.
Mitigation work to address the Mountain Pine Beetle issue at the site took place in 2019 when 32 infested trees were identified and removed. But the problem has persisted and now 116 infested trees have been identified. The reason appears to be that the site is very dry and in conjunction with drought conditions valley-wide, the beetle spread at that site has been enhanced at an alarming rate.
Town planner Mel Yemma said the trees between the Baxter Gulch trail parking area and the highway will have to go. “All of the trees in the stand adjacent to 135 are lodgepole pines and will be removed,” she said. “None of the trees on the western side of the property near the actual Baxter Gulch trail will be removed.”
The state Forest Service report said Mountain Pine Beetles can travel up to a half-mile in search of a host tree so if nothing is done to eliminate the problem at Avalanche Park, lodgepole pine on Gibson’s Ridge and within Baxter Gulch would be vulnerable to attack. Winds could carry the beetles even further, threatening other nearby trees in the valley.
The CSFS said that removal of all lodgepole pine within the stand would “increase the amount of solar radiation on the forest floor, which can create a favorable niche for lodgepole pine regeneration, or help ancillary land use objectives.”
“Addressing the Pine Beetle infestation is a no-brainer but we need to have a lot of public outreach to explain to people why we are doing this,” suggested councilwoman Laura Mitchell.
The three-acre site is the location of a planned solar array farm and some screening work is anticipated to be in place before the solar panels are installed. The tree work is expected to be completed before June.
