No easy solution exists to save dying trees
Durango Herald snipes Denver Post
A week ago, The Denver Post published an editorial entitled, “Beetle kill must be state priority.” That is absolutely true. The bold summary paragraph is also true: “It is troubling to picture Colorado’s mountains as dead zones. State leaders and lawmakers must take the problem seriously.”
But Southwest Colorado readers have to ask, “Where have you been?” Where was The Denver Post when piñon trees in this part of the state were dying by the hundreds of thousands? When the green mountain sides began to turn to rust because of the death of tall trees? When aspen communities began to die?
The state government was where it has always been: in Denver, not too far from the Post. It is tempting to blame the deterioration of forests in the San Juans on the fact that this corner of the state is out of sight of the state capital and equally out of mind. That is not quite true, however. We have good representation in Denver. Certainly we do not have either the visibility or the lobbying power of the Front Range and ski-resort communities.
Unfortunately, those communities will not find easy answers to the problem, either… [more]