What is killing the trees on the golf course; bark beetle or something else?
The golf course has been losing pine trees for a number of years, but this has been by far the worst two-year stretch. After talking to a number of tree experts, including professors and biologist from both NAU and the Forest Service, I believe that the main factor is 30 years of being heavily watered with effluent. Reclaimed water is high in mineral and salts, both of which are not good for Ponderosa. Also, we have to remember that Ponderosa are a limited water tree and by virtue of being on a golf course, they receive much more water than that. I feel that these factors killed some of the trees and weakened others to the point of being susceptible to bark beetles.
