[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 104 (Friday, July 26, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7427-S7428]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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                            INFESTED PINONS

 Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, I rise today to continue my 
efforts to raise awareness of the dire situation we are facing in the 
western United States due to the ongoing drought.
  I have been speaking on the Senate floor repeatedly emphasizing the 
impact the drought is having on the west, and especially its impact on 
New Mexico. The water situation has affected businesses and the 
livestock industry, and it has turned forests into tinderboxes.
  Now, it appears that there is another problem arising from the lack 
of water. A recent article by the Albuquerque Journal highlights the 
fact that ``hundreds of thousands of bark beetles [are] killing Pinon 
pines all over New Mexico.'' These are ``trees that have survived New 
Mexico's arid climate for 75 or 100 years [and] are [now] succumbing to 
the beetles.''
  Under normal conditions, stressed trees would use internal sap 
pressure to fend off an infestation. However, under current conditions, 
the trees do not have enough moisture to adequately fight back, and 
they are overwhelmed by the beetles and devastated. They have to be cut 
down, stacked, and covered with plastic to prevent the escape of the 
beetles.
  If New Mexico's Pinon trees suffer, so too will some area economies. 
New Mexico is known for its unique food flavors and its native art. 
Pinon nuts are a true New Mexico treat which can be harvested and eaten 
as a snack. Roasted nuts can sell for around $9 a pound and bring much 
needed tourism dollars to our state. In addition, Pinon pitch can be 
used as a glaze for Navajo pottery providing the finishing touches to 
their beautiful designs. Prolonged damage to the Pinon trees will 
create further hardships for New Mexico's economy.
  With each passing day, the conditions in New Mexico will continue to 
become worse. At some point or another, every individual in New Mexico 
will feel the impact of this drought and continue to face hardships 
until we take proper action to alleviate the situation.
  I ask that the July 24, 2002, Albuquerque Journal article entitled, 
``Parched Pinon Under Deadly Attack'' be printed in the Record.
  The article follows.

             [From the Albuquerque Journal, July 24, 2002]

                   Parched Pinons Under Deadly Attack

                           (By Tania Soussan)

       First came the fires. Then withered crops. Now the 
     drought's latest plague: hundreds of thousands of bark 
     beetles killing pinon pines all over New Mexico.
       ``In many areas, they're taking out all of the trees,'' 
     said Bob Cain, a New Mexico State University forest 
     entomologist.'' . . . It's going to be a long time before 
     there's many pinon in there again.''
       Even before the drought of 2002, the trees faced still 
     competition for water because forests have grown overly dense 
     during decades of human fire suppression.
       The drought has made the situation even worse. Without 
     adequate water, the pinons can't repel the bark beetles that 
     burrow into vital tissues, lay eggs and munch away.
       ``It's been something that's been building the last several 
     years, especially since 2000,'' Cain said, adding that the 
     bark beetles are one of nature's ways of thinning a forest.
       Carol Sutherland, the New Mexico Department of 
     Agriculture's top bug expert, agreed.
       ``Trees that are under stress are getting hammered badly by 
     all manner of bark beetles,'' she said recently.
       The worst infestations are in the area between Magdalena 
     and Quemado in the western part of the state, around Ojo 
     Caliente in northern New Mexico, in the Sacramento Mountains 
     and Ruidoso.
       Near Silver City, ponderosa pines also are being hit hard.
       Even trees that have survived New Mexico's arid climate for 
     75 or 100 years are succumbing to the beetles this year, said 
     Terry Rogers, forest entomologist for the U.S. Forest Service 
     in New Mexico.
       On a hillside outside of Santa Fe, Cain recently examined a 
     pocket of pinons fighting a hopeless battle for life. The 
     pine needles on one tree were turning a pale, whitish green. 
     Another tree already had gone reddish brown.
       ``There's nothing you can do to save this tree,'' Cain 
     said. ``This drought has been so

[[Page S7428]]

     severe that even trees that should have enough resources 
     around them are getting hit.''
       Pencil lead-sized holes in the trunk marked where the 
     beetles entered, and small piles of fine sawdust on the 
     branches and the ground were signs of their success.
       In addition, there were several ``pitch tubes'' on the 
     broad trunk. The tree had spurted out resin, or sap, in an 
     attempt to eject the beetles. A healthy tree can fight off 
     beetles that way, but drought means the trees don't have 
     enough moisture to produce the needed sap.
       Bark beetles are efficient killers.
       Once a few successfully bore into a pinon or ponderosa 
     pine, they send out a chemical signal that attracts thousands 
     of other beetles.
       They invade the phloem tissue right under the bark, the 
     tissue that carries sugars from the pine needles to the 
     tree's roots. The beetles also carry pockets of fungus on 
     their bodies. The fungus attacks the water-conducting tissues 
     of the tree.
       Once the signs of beetle infestation are clear, it's too 
     late to save the tree.
       ``You really have no good evidence of beetles in the tree 
     until the tree is fading,'' Cain said. ``Insecticides are not 
     efficient at that point.''
       The only solution is to cut down the tree and get rid of 
     it--and the beetles inside--to stop the beetle invasion from 
     spreading to other trees. To use it for firewood, first 
     stack the logs in the sun and cover them with plastic for 
     several days to kill the beetles.
       The insecticide Sevin can be used to protect high-value 
     trees that are at risk, but Cain does not recommend it for 
     general use. Watering trees so they are able to fight off an 
     attack also can help.
       ``The good news is if we get these monsoons, the trees will 
     become more resistant,'' he said.
       Drought also has increased populations of spider mites in 
     corn crops in eastern New Mexico.
       ``It can be quite severe,'' said Mike English, head of the 
     NMSU Extension Service's Agricultural Science Center in Los 
     Lunas. ``It can lose half your crop.''
       The drought could be making blood-sucking kissing bugs a 
     problem in the southern part of the state, Sutherland said.
       The bugs' usual prey, small rodents and birds, probably are 
     in shorter supply so they are biting people and leaving 
     behind big, itchy welts, she said.
       ``You've seen mosquito bites but you ain't seen nothing 
     yet,''she said. ``These are a lot worse.''
       Still, the situation in New Mexico could be worse.
       Grasshoppers and Mormon crickets are ravaging crops and 
     pastures in Nebraska and other Western states in what could 
     be the biggest such infestation since World War II, according 
     to agricultural officials.
       There were early reports of a few pockets of grasshopper 
     problems in New Mexico, in Lea and Eddy counties and near 
     Silver City, English said. But Sutherland said there were no 
     reports of major problems in the state as of mid-
     July.

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