Saskatchewan will spend up to $240,000 over the next three years to curb the mountain pine beetle infestation in Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park.
It awarded Duncan Henderson Contracting of British Columbia a contract to cut, pile and burn infested lodgepole pines in the park.
Beetle populations have been climbing the past four years, and last year’s mild winter allowed many of the larvae to survive.
Two trees were found infested in 2006. This year, there were 433.
Parks minister Kevin Doherty said the beetle poses a serious threat to the pine forest ,and that threat must be managed.
B.C. forests have been suffering a massive die-off of lodgepole pines for years.
