Environment

Beetlemania: Insect poses long-term threat to Pine Barrens

EFFORTS TO STOP THE SPREAD

Since the southern pine beetle was first detected on Long Island this past fall in Shirley’s Wertheim National Wildlife Refuge, the DEC has been working with the U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Central Pine Barrens Commission and individual towns to keep the insects in check.

Thus far on Long Island, most of the devastation has occurred at Wertheim and Connetquot River State Park, Mr. Wernet said.

Moving forward, the effort to track and contain the insect will involve several steps, said John Pavacic, executive director of the Pine Barrens Authority. The state-created entity oversees 100,000 acres of preserved woodlands in eastern Brookhaven, western Southampton and southwestern Riverhead towns.


THE BITING FACTS: 

• Scientific name: Dendroctonus frontalis

• Measurements: 3 millimeters long (about the size of a grain of rice)

• It takes close to 5,000 southern pine beetles to kill a pine tree 15 inches in diameter.

• From 1999 to 2002, a southern pine beetle outbreak in the southern U.S. caused over $1 billion in economic losses.

• The southern pine beetle is also abundant in Central America. Over 225,000 acres were ruined there from 1999 to 2002.

• The largest southern pine beetle infestation on Long Island to date is believed to be at Wertheim National Wildlife Refuge in Shirley.

Sources: N.Y. Department of Environmental Conservation, N.J. State Forestry Services, interviews with Kevin Dodds and Matt Ayres.


First, aerial reconnaissance is done to spot browned trees, which are assumed to be infested. Those flights began in the area this past December. Data from the flights is then logged into a mapping system that allows ground surveyors to head out on foot and inspect the targeted areas. Once an infected area is verified, “suppression efforts” begin. For a small site, it could be as simple as using state sawyers to clear cut a few acres. But for larger ones — such as Henry’s Hollow in Hampton Bays, where 14.4 acres were recently cleared — outside contractors are hired to also cut down healthy surrounding trees that have yet to be infected.

Simultaneously, southern pine beetle traps are set up throughout the area to heal gauge the extent of the infestation.

New York State is a member of the Northeast Fire Compact, which in recent weeks sent crews from the federal government, other states and even Canada to help with ground surveying efforts. In addition, $57,000 in federal funds was allocated to cover the crews’ travel, lodging and meal costs.

The additional ground surveyors will give officials a better idea of exactly where to focus suppression efforts next winter. Due to limited resources, however, the surveying process will take quite a while — at least through the summer.

As Long Island’s only regional forester, Mr. Wernet is officially a “department of one,” he said.

LONG-TERM IMPACTS

Pitch pines — one of the southern pine beetle’s favorite hosts — are the dominant type of tree in the Pine Barrens, Mr. Pavacic said. And in some places, those are the only type of tree. So long term, he said, the infestation could prove to be “a potentially major threat” to the ecosystem.

The exact nature of that potential threat remains unclear, especially since the Pine Barrens protects Long Island’s freshwater aquifer, which provides drinking water to the island.

“We’re blessed with having such a large single-source aquifer, so hopefully it won’t affect it all that much,” Mr. Wernet said. “But I would say if we [change] the dominant tree type all at once, that would have to affect it. I don’t know how.”

What to do with the felled trees also remains a question. Mr. Dodds of the U.S. Forest Service pointed out that in some parts of the country, the logging industry is robust and companies can competitively bid on and handle salvaged timber. But that’s not the case on Long Island. Trees could simply be left to rot, creating potential tinder for future forest fires.

Dick Amper is the executive director of the Pine Barrens Society, a nonprofit organization “focusing on protecting drinking water and open space, especially in Long Island’s Pine Barrens.” Despite the lack of available resources, he estimated that it “is going to take millions upon millions of dollars and at least 10 years to get this under any kind of control. This is a disaster of the highest order of magnitude.”

While Mr. Wernet recognizes the threat the beetles pose, he said he sees a “glimmer of hope” in that southern pine beetle population — at least now — seems to be relatively small on the East End, he said.

Survey results expected later this year will tell the tale.

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