Beetles rock Corbin Park
Photos by BRIAN WALKER/Press Post Falls Urban Forester Preston Hill checks out the damage to Ponderosa pine trees by western pine bark beetles in Corbin Park on Friday.
The western pine bark beetle has damaged trees in Post Falls parks, including Corbin and Black Bay.
This photo shows tunnels in Ponderosa pine bark caused by the Western pine bark beetle at Corbin Park in Post Falls. (BRIAN WALKER/Press)
By BRIAN WALKER
Staff Writer
POST FALLS — Western pine bark beetles have a ticket to ride right out of Corbin Park, but not before the pests have had their way with ponderosa pines.
Preston Hill, Post Falls' urban forester, said the city will shut down the western side of the 25-acre park near the entrance sometime in July while the dead or damaged trees are removed.
Corbin Park is popular with disc golfers and recreation activity on the Spokane River during the summer.
"We estimate that we'll remove 10 loads of logs," Hill said. "The reason we're doing it now is that we have to eliminate the hazard of dead trees and this portion of the park is heavily used. As the trees get more brittle, we need to take care of the problem as soon as possible."
Hill said it's possible the entire park, including the kayak launch, will be closed for one or two days during the week while work is being performed.
About 3 acres on the west side along with select areas throughout the site have been affected, Hill said.
"We'll be replanting to the extent we can and where seedlings won't get damaged," Hill said.
Some trees in Black Bay Park have also been damaged by the beetle, he said.
Hill said the beetle has become more widespread in this area the past few years.
"The hot, dry summers cause trees to be stressed, and when they're stressed they're more susceptible to insects and disease," he said.
Hill said the damage was noticed to be coming on about a year ago.
"There's nothing you can do that's cost-effective to control it, except keep the forest in as good of health as possible," he said.
Hill said the beetles do the damage in their larvae stage.
"Adults lay the eggs, then the larvae feed on the tissue of the tree under the bark," he said.
Hill showed pitch coming from holes in the trees as well as tunnels under the bark to illustrate the damage. The biggest sign, however, is the brown trees.
Hill said revenue from the timber won't be enough to offset the cost of the harvest, so the city will have to fund a portion of the project. He said Friday it’s unclear how much the difference will be.
The city is working with Inland Forest Management on the project. Post Falls has done some tree harvests before but nothing to this extent in recent years that involved a contractor to battle beetles.