"This book presents a synthesis of published information on mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins [Coleoptera: Scolytidae]) biology and management with an emphasis on lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta Dougl. ex Loud. var. latifolia Engelm.) forests of western Canada. Intended as a reference for researchers as well as forest managers, the book covers three main subject areas: mountain pine beetle biology, management, and socioeconomic concerns. The chapters on biology cover taxonomy, life history and habits, distribution, insect-host tree interactions, development and survival, epidemiology, and outbreak history. The management section covers management strategy, survey and detection, proactive and preventive management, and decision support tools. The chapters on socioeconomic aspects include an economic examination of management programs and the utilization of post-beetle salvage timber in solid wood, panelboard, pulp and paper products."--Publisher's description.

"Describes the mountain pine beetle and how it has caused an epidemic of dead trees in the Rocky Mountains"--Provided by publisher.

Beginning in the late 1980s, a series of improbable bark beetle outbreaks unsettled iconic forests and communities across western North America. An insect the size of a rice kernel eventually killed more than 30 billion pine and spruce trees from Alaska to New Mexico. Often appearing in masses larger than schools of killer whales, the beetles engineered one of the world's greatest forest die-offs since the deforestation of Europe by peasants between the eleventh and thirteenth centuries. The beetle didn't act alone. Misguided science, out-of-control logging, bad public policy, and a hundred years of fire suppression created a volatile geography that released the world's oldest forest manager from all natural constraints. Like most human empires, the beetles exploded wildly and then crashed, leaving in their wake grieving landowners, humbled scientists, hungry animals, and altered watersheds. Although climate change triggered this complex event, human arrogance assuredly set the table. With little warning, an ancient insect pointedly exposed the frailty of seemingly stable manmade landscapes. Drawing on first-hand accounts from entomologists, botanists, foresters, and rural residents, award-winning journalist Andrew Nikiforuk, investigates this unprecedented beetle plague, its startling implications, and the lessons it holds.