Where did Mountain Pine Beetle come from?
Did mountain pine beetle come from somewhere else, or have they always been in the Mountain Parks? We know that mountain pine beetle is a naturally occurring insect found in pine forests in the southern Rocky Mountains and in areas west of the Continental Divide. Due to limited historical records, they have not previously been recorded on the northeastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains. This does not necessarily mean that they were absent, but rather demonstrates a lack of surveying. Currently, an abundance of mature pine trees as a result of many years of wildfire suppression and milder winters have combined to enable the expansion of mountain pine beetle into large tracts of pine forest. The mountain pine beetle has been able to survive winters farther north than previously seen.
