Bear Paw and Highwood Mountain Land Owners Should Scout for Dying Fir Trees
In October of 2017, the Bear Paw Mountains were buried with three feet of snow. Along with the snow came severe damage to many Chouteau County conifers. After the damage was completed, the Douglas-Fir Beetle (Dendroctonus pseudotsugae) moved into damaged tree locations where they reproduced and rapidly built up their numbers. In the spring of 2018, D. Pseudotsugae adults moved from the damaged trees to neighboring large trees. First the needles turned yellow, and then reddish brown. The end result was a small populatio...
