The Village of Lumby is trying to help stop the spread of an unwelcome visitor.
Residents may have noticed that there is an increasing presence of dead and dying trees on the slopes above and to the west of the village. The fir bark beetle is currently experiencing an outbreak in the forest adjacent to the village.
The obvious red needled trees are the visible signs of the increased fir bark beetle presence. Within the Monashee Community Forest, a trap tree program with salvage harvesting is planned to limit the spread of the beetle.
Trap trees were felled this week, and the village estimates harvesting will occur between July 15-to-Oct. 15.
“The beetle infested area is estimated at 45 hectares,” said village Mayor Kevin Acton, chairperson of the Monashee Community Forest.
Debris burning will be planned for late fall to early winter of 2018 for sanitation of potentially beetle infested debris. This may generate greater than normal smoke levels for a short duration.
The logging blocks are planned as a series of small patches.
These small patches target beetle infested and immediately at-risk timber. The removal of dead and dying trees is also intended to decrease the fire hazard associated with increased fuel loading resulting from a fir bark beetle outbreak.
The blocks will be easily visible from many vantage points in the Village of Lumby.
* The Monashee Community Forest signed a financial contribution agreement of $20,000 to go to the Lumby and District Museum Friday morning.
The funding will be used by the museum toward their building expansion project to “build a learning centre to host seminars for children to learn about local history, industry, culture and recreation.”
The contribution by the Monashee Community Forest represents half of the estimated cost of the project; the museum already has the other half required, and so this contribution by the Monashee Community Forest will enable the museum to move the project forward.
Acton and Rick Fairbairn, president of the Monashee Community Forest, were slated to present the cheque to museum president Mel Ormel and vice-president Linda Vlasveld.