IV for trees?

BRECKENRIDGE - For now, the thick stands of evergreens around Gary Severson's home have been spared the worst of the pine beetle epidemic, but by all accounts, it's only a matter of time before the bugs invade even the higher reaches of the Upper Blue valley.

While Severson, director of the Northwest Colorado Council of Governments, has removed infested trees here and there on his High Point Drive lot, he's interested in finding a systematic way to protect the trees that provide privacy, scenic value and some shelter from the wind. And he thinks a new experimental treatment developed by a Massachusetts company could be at least part of the solution.

So Severson offered up a batch of mature lodgepole pines as a testing ground this week, watching as a crew of forestry experts injected the base of a number of trees with a pesticide that kills the bugs on contact, and may offer protection for up to three years. About 30 trees were treated, while another 30 were tagged but left untreated as a control group. As the beetle infestation spreads in the area, both groups will be monitored. A 60 percent infestation is anticipated in the untreated control group, while the experts hope 80 percent of the teated lodgepoles will survive.

"We're trying to raise awareness that there's potential for saving trees locally," said Pete Wild, CEO and president of Woburn, Mass.-based Arborjet. Among the advantages of the injection system is that no chemicals are released into the environment, Wild explained. He said it also enables homeowners to protect their trees without having to hire a certified sprayer.

Wild couldn't be pinned down as to how much the treatment costs per tree, but said the company's goal is to make the pricing competitive with the cost of spraying. Breckenridge town officials and private tree service experts present at the demo session said the current treatment cost locally ranges anywhere from $10 to $35 per tree, depending on the exact circumstances. The cost of removing dead trees and processing the material must also be factored in.

Part of the reason the cost can't be pinpointed yet is because the proprietary chemical used in the treatment doesn't yet have government approval. Wild said his company is hoping to get an emergency treatment permit before the end of 2006, and encouraged local residents and elected officials to put some pressure on the U.S. Department of Agriculture to speed up the process.

The treatment involves drilling four to eight shallow holes in the base of a tree, depending on its diameter. The solution is then soaked up by capillary action.

Although the product isn't licensed yet, it has been used as an external pesticide on crops for quite some time, Wild said. It's not meant for widespread application, but to protect individual trees.

"We've got to try new things. Nothing ventured, nothing gained," he said, referring to the need for effective protection of high-value lodgepoles in the face of an overwhelming infestation.

The potential for using the chemical as a preventive treatment via injection was discovered in 2004 by Don Grosman, of the Texas Forest Service, in the course of looking for effective ways to protect commercial tree operations.

Grosman, who was also present at the Breckenridge session, said the product worked to control common plantation pests.

"We wanted to try and see how effective it is against more aggressive beetles," Grosman said, explaining how he launched a series of experimental treatments in various western states and British Columbia.

Since the product hasn't yet been formally approved, Grosman and Wild can't make any specific claims as to its effectiveness. But the early data from the field trials is looking promising, he concluded.



Bob Berwyn can be reached at (970) 331-5996, or at bberwyn@summitdaily.com.