Forest Service Officials are rolling out a new plan to deal with the extensive Pine Beetle infestation going on in the Black Hills.
The Mountain Pine Beetle Response Project intends to streamline the attack on new pine beetle infestation areas.
It uses about $70-million dollars of existing funds over the next five to seven years and targets over 240,000 acres.
Black Hills Forest Supervisor Craig Bobzien says this plan gives the Forest Service more flexibility. He says it allows the agency to use current funding to respond more quickly to new Pine Beetle infestations.
“It gives us the means to examine and set priorities. Not only on this project but across the whole forest--so we can look at what’s included here in our Pine Beetle Response Project we can also look at other projects that have occurred on ranger districts and then working with our strategy we can go out and apply each year on where we think that best investment is for whatever funds we receive,” says Bobzien.
Bobzien says the Mountain Pine Beetle Response Project included a public input process that helped to shape the final plan. Officials say Mountain Pine Beetles have infested over 400,000 acres in the Black Hills. That number expected to go even higher when this year’s survey of newly hit areas is tallied.