The mountain pine beetle epidemic has affected many people, from scientists asking new questions to campers watching favorite spots succumb to clear-cuts. A new video series produced through a partnership between two local institutions examines the range of people interacting with the epidemic and looking forward as the forests recover.
“Our Future Forests: Beyond Bark Beetles,” is a 10-part series created by the U.S. Forest Service and the University of Wyoming Ruckelshaus Institute. The series premiered in Laramie earlier this week and is scheduled to be available online at the end of the month.
The series documents the effects of the mountain pine beetle epidemic and the response to the outbreak. All filming was done in the Medicine Bow-Routt National Forests, with a focus on local groups that have been affected and how they’re responding.
Aaron Voos, public affairs specialist for the U.S. Forest Service, coordinated production of the series with Emilene Ostlind, communications coordinator for the Ruckelshaus Institute. Voos said he and other forest officials initially were seeking a way to let the public know about the state of the national forest as the epidemic winds down.
“We brainstormed ways we could educate and inform the public about what the forests look like now, that this is still a nice place to come to,” he said. That idea grew into a comprehensive project highlighting areas and user groups across the forest, from northern Colorado to Laramie Peak. As the scope of the project grew, the Forest Service decided to partner with the university to help it come to fruition.
From The Laramie Boomerang: https://www.laramieboomerang.com/articles/2014/05/05/outdoors/doc536467a6c145e980348217.txt