Drought, insects killing Southwest's pinon trees

SANTA FE - As New Mexico experiences cooler temperatures, residents are breathing a sigh of relief that the state largely escaped the forest fires that have plagued it the past few years. But the absence of ravaging fires doesn't mean its trees are out of the woods yet.

Anxiety is growing, fueled by an extended drought coupled with a bark beetle infestation that is killing New Mexico's beloved state tree, the pinon. This year has been New Mexico's 15th driest since record keeping began in 1895, said Charlie Liles of the National Weather Service's Albuquerque office.

The state's population and water demands have never been greater. With no El NiÄno weather effect this year, Liles said, odds are evenly divided for a dry or wet winter. Forestry officials predict that 85 percent to 90 percent of the pinon, a slow-growing evergreen, will perish this year even with good precipitation.

``This is a forest fire with six legs,'' said George Duda, a forester with the New Mexico State Forestry Division in Santa Fe, of the beetle infestation. ``Things are bad enough to where many areas around Santa Fe, Los Alamos, and the Sandia Mountains near Albuquerque are experiencing 90 percent pinon die-off. If we don't have a cold enough winter to kill the bark beetles, it's hard to say when this will end.''

Instead of the fire-blackened trunks that have scarred New Mexico's hillsides in recent years, swaths of brown trees are visible around Santa Fe in the foothills of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Fire officials are already assessing deadwood concentrations and plans of attack in preparation for what they expect will be a busy fire season next year.

Pinons are suffering from a one-two punch, Duda said. First, the prolonged drought killed or weakened the trees, leaving them unable to produce sap. When bark beetle grubs tunnel into a healthy tree, sap drowns and pushes them out of the trunks, but the insects are now feasting unopposed, turning into adult beetles and reproducing quickly. Piles of wood dust from the burrowing beetles can be seen below many trees.

``We're losing healthy trees, too, just because the sheer number of beetles that are attacking,'' Duda said.

Crackling pinon logs are ubiquitous in New Mexico's Southwest-style fireplaces and are closely associated with the romance and culture of the tourist-dependent state. The burning logs give off a rich, pleasant scent that wafts through Santa Fe's streets on winter mornings. Some Santa Fe hotels even burn logs in the summer because visitors expect the ambience. The dark evergreens break the monotony of the high-desert landscape. Everything from firewood to cosmetics is made from pinon, resulting in a small local industry. While firewood should be more abundant then ever, pinon nuts and oil for other products could become scarce in coming years.

Gino Schiavone, owner of Native Scents in Taos, relies on pinon sap and fresh needles for his incense and other products.

``We're taking a wait-and-see attitude right now,'' he said of his supply. ``What's really concerning us is fire. We're surrounded by the Kit Carson National Forest, and you look out and see huge patches of brown. It would just take one lightning strike.''

Even those benefiting from the pinon die-off are worried. Joe Arellano, owner of tree-removal service J-N-S Services in Santa Fe, said he's never been so busy.

``I've been in business 16 years and have never seen devastation like this,'' he said. ``It's overwhelming losing all of our lovely pinons.''

Arellano said thick groves of pinon provided privacy for many wealthy Santa Fe homes built in the foothills of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, and with their death and removal, the look of Santa Fe is changing.

Despite increasing concern about the changes to New Mexico's landscape, officials say there are some benefits.

``The damage will be on par with a major statewide forest fire,'' Duda said, ``but the difference is that in this case, we still have our soil.''

As pinons proliferated during the wet 1980s and 1990s, they choked out many grasses and berry-producing shrubs. As the pinons thin, this vegetation will return and provide a more diverse food supply for wildlife, Duda said. In time, the pinon will come back, but not as quickly as many would like.

``Ultimately, this is a natural cycle,'' he said. ``But it's not pretty.''