I recently traveled to the Colorado Rockies for some much needed relaxation, hiking and change of scenery. I was not prepared for the change of scenery that awaited me.
Eight years have passed since I visited some of my favorite trails near the Continental Divide. At that time there had been a little tree damage from Mountain Pine Borer Beetles. Now, the Dillon Reservoir Basin appears as though a forest fire is going through in slow motion. Some areas appear to be 90% dead or dying. I read that over 3.5 million acres of forest have been killed by the beetles in Colorado so far.
I still found many areas almost untouched and as beautiful as ever. But I have a new respect for the speed at which opportunistic bugs can do their damage. It will be interesting to see how the ecology of some of these areas changes with the added light to the undergrowth. As a painter of forests, I'm looking forward to how the inevitable renewal will appear.
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