|
|
Article: BEETLES TAKING BIG BITE OUT OF SOUTHERN FORESTS
- Article from:
- The Boston Globe (Boston, MA)
- Article date:
- May 22, 1989
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright (null) The Boston Globe. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
|
CLEVELAND, Tenn. - Following a severe drought and a mild
winter, the southern pine beetle population has exploded in
Tennessee and North Carolina and the voracious insects are eating
their way through acres of timber in national forests.
The first signs of the largest pine beetle infestation in
memory surfaced last October. As the weather grows warmer this
spring, the problem is growing worse; forestry experts are
predicting the eventual damage will exceed the last major outbreak
of the early 1970's.
"We've had little outbreaks in the past but nothing like
this," said Harold Hawkins, a forestry technician at Cherokee
National Forest.
In the war over millions of dollars ...